


Just like this

by MacdeauShipper



Category: Political RPF, Political RPF - Canadian 21st c., Political RPF - France 21st c.
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Multi, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:20:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 177,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22820875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MacdeauShipper/pseuds/MacdeauShipper
Summary: Emmanuel Macron and Justin Trudeau are two of the sexiest head of state currently in function... And of course, rumors are sparking...Title art is here : https://captaingroovehigh-blog.tumblr.com/image/190441427550
Relationships: Brigitte Macron/Emmanuel Macron, Emmanuel Macron/Justin Trudeau, Sophie Grégoire/Justin Trudeau
Comments: 186
Kudos: 174





	1. 25th May 2017 - Taormina, Italy - First meet, first look...

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER : 
> 
> This is a work of FICTION. I honestly admire and respect both Brigitte and Sophie, but life isn't always that simple, and I like the idea of secret relationships...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter will be designed to be listened to with music.   
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 1 : Can't help falling in love (Elvis Presley or any other cover)

The French President is feeling slightly nervous in his car on the way to his meeting with the Canadian Prime Minister. Justin Trudeau, the surprising American, is one of the first head of state he will meet in person and it is always a perilous exercise. They will be meeting on neutral grounds, both of them currently being in Italy for the G7. He glances at his phone : they are running five minutes behind schedule, but it’s not his fault for once. Edouard Philippe, his Prime Minister, that came with him on this trip, missed his alarm-clock this morning, and had to be woken up by his security team on the time he was supposed to leave. Being only five minutes late is a real miracle, and Emmanuel reflects on that when he exits his car. Edouard joins him under the porch and they enter together into the building. Emmanuel adjusts his tie and jacket with a nervous glance towards the corridor in front of them. 

“I am so sorry for this morning” apologizes once again the minister “It never happened before, and it won’t happen again”  
“Calm down Edouard” answers the president with a malicious smile “We are barely late. And it’s not really your fault…” 

They laugh, and keep walking, closely followed by the security officers that come with them everywhere. 

In a meeting room, not far from there, Justin Trudeau is waiting for the French President to arrive. He finishes his coffee, throwing the empty cup in the bin behind his seat. He came alone to the meeting, two of his security officers waiting by the door. One inside the room, the other one outside. Justin has dropped his phone on the table, and he gives a look at his wristwatch. They are late. Hopefully, this meeting was held behind closed doors, the journalists will never have forgiven the French for arriving late, and keeping him waiting. Especially as it was their first meeting. But he didn’t mind. It was only a couple of minutes, and he freed his whole morning anyway. The young president had been elected a couple of weeks ago, and they didn’t get the chance until today to meet in person.They had two brief conversations over the phone, and despite their teams working together, he was eager to finally see the man in the flesh. He passes a hand on his tie, trying to flatten it and keep it in place. He’s wearing a red one, and matching socks. Not that it matters really much, but he likes to be sharply dressed. Justin hears steps down the hall and he stands up, ready to greet his guests. The French President enters in the room first, a bright smile on his lips. 

“Happy to meet you finally, Mister Prime Minister” he says shaking hands with him  
“Please call me Justin” answers the Canadian smiling as well 

The Canadian has a firm handshake, resolute, but welcoming, and it pleases the French very much. They look at each other, trying to assess their power and interest. Emmanuel notices that the Canadian has the same eye-colour as him, and he realizes how beautiful it must look. Brigitte always tells him she likes his eyes, but he is not really in a position to judge. Justin’s heart skips a few beats when he lays eyes on the French’s face, but he quickly dismisses this trouble. 

“Mister Philippe” greets Trudeau shaking hands with the french Prime Minister “Nice to meet you”  
“The pleasure is all mine” answers the man 

The three of them take place around the table and the security service leaves them alone, closing the door on their way out. It is quite unusual for head of states to meet like that, without a whole team around them, but Macron insisted. He likes face to face discussions, with no intermediaries. The time for teamwork will come later. Justin introduces the work of his government and while Edouard Philippe takes notes, Macron is profoundly mesmerized by the clear blue eyes of the man speaking. Resting his head on his fist, elbow on the desk, Emmanuel listens, trying to obliviate the very indecent thoughts that pop into the back of his mind when he fixes his eyes on the man’s lips. Justin is troubled too, the French looks really young, dynamic, and extremely interesting. Or is it interested ? The Canadian PM tries to focus on what he is saying, but sometimes his mind wanders, and it becomes hard to follow a proper conversation. They talk about their countries, the challenges they are facing in their national security, the other head of states they’d like to meet to discuss international matters etc… A full review of all the topics they needed to talk about. They exchange opinions and points of view on the future of the world, and the three of them agree on almost all the topics. 

Three hours and five bottles of water later, the three men part ways. The Canadian is expected by his Commonwealth counterparts, and the French have other meetings scheduled in the afternoon. Tomorrow, they will meet for the general G7 reunion. 

“Thank you Justin” says Emmanuel shaking the Canadian’s hand “I am looking forward working with you”  
“The feeling is mutual” answers Justin with an adorable smile

Edouard Philippe and Justin Trudeau also shake hands and the Canadian is escorted out by his team. The french men look at each other and immediately, the Prime Minister asks his friend and colleague : 

“What do you think ?”  
“He’s cute” answers Emmanuel still deep in his thoughts, not quite realizing the bomb he just dropped 

Edouard arches an eyebrow at him, half worried, half surprised. Where did that come from ? What on Earth is going on through Emmanuel’s mind ? Their security officers are closing on them, and he needs to bring back the President to reality. Quick. 

“Emmanuel” he calls “That was not the answer I expected, but fair enough : he is absolutely charming… I understand the trouble” 

Emmanuel blinks several times, trying to reconnect with reality and he finally lays eyes on his colleague. Fuck. Did he say that out loud ? At least he didn’t let out that he’d love to have a one-to-one conversation with the Canadian. 

“That word… Cute… That was…”  
“No explanation needed” cuts the PM “Whatever suits you. Now let me reformulate : do you think we will manage to work properly with him ?”  
“For certain” nods the President “He is stubborn, but attached to progress and social justice. We should be good with him.”  
“Fantastic” comments Edouard looking at a message he received on his mobile phone “I have to go, please try not to daydream too much. You look a bit off today…” 

The President lifts his thumb in the air to signify everything is good. If only Edouard knew. Emmanuel’s mind got lost thinking about the blue eyes of the Canadian PM. And even though that feeling passed, the warm fuzziness in his lower stomach didn’t… What is wrong with him ? Under what spell is he under ? What secret power does the amazing North-American has ? He starts walking towards his car, when his phone buzzes in his pocket. He draws it out. It’s his wife : Brigitte. 

“Good morning, dear” he says to her  
“Hello, darling. I hope I am not disturbing you”  
“Not at all” answers the French “I just got back to my car”  
“Oh. You met with the handsome Canadian this morning, right ?” 

Emmanuel laughs. They discussed it before he left, and she confessed to him that to her eyes Justin was very attractive. But it’s the common opinion anyway. And it’s true. Emmanuel is in a good place to know that. His weird feeling about the man hasn’t completely vanished from his mind and he struggles to find his words. 

“He is… I mean… He’s very nice. And charming. We exchanged ideas about the future of our respective countries” he adds changing topic “And we think alike”  
“That is a good point” she replies “I know how much you value people that think like you”  
“He’s young, he’s smart, he’s lively… I think I recognize myself in him”  
“I see that. Are you going to meet again anytime soon ?”  
“Apart from tomorrow, I don’t know, I’ll have to check my agenda. This afternoon I have meetings with CEOs it will be slightly less enjoyable…” 

They laugh but both of them know Emmanuel is interested and involved in everything he does, and everyone he meets. That is part of who he is, and that is part of why his wife married him. Their love-story was straight out of a shakespearean tragedy, except it ended well for them. And despite the struggles and obstacles life put in their way, they are still very much in love. And Brigitte helps him a lot, when no one else can. She is a valuable part of his personal and professional life, and it’s not rare for them to work together on his speeches, exchanging ideas and rephrasing them until it sounds perfectly right. 

In a completely different part of the city, Justin Trudeau is seated at a table with other Commonwealth leaders. They had lunch together before meeting in the afternoon to discuss the trade agreements between their countries. But Justin didn’t eat much. He feels weird. Extremely troubled by his morning meeting with the French President. What is happening to him ? Why can’t he stop thinking about Emmanuel ? Those lips… And oh those eyes ! It was mesmerizing, and Justin would gladly have drowned into the blue ocean that Macron’s eyes are made of. His French counterpart made a great impression on him, and it sticks in a part of his mind, keeping him from focusing completely on something else. He leaves the table and go see his assistant, at another table not far from there. Leaning over his shoulder he says : 

“Dimitri, could you send a message to President Macron saying I was delighted to meet him and his Prime Minister this morning, and that I am looking forward to work with him in the next future ?”  
“Sure thing, Sir” answers the man “Anything else ?”  
“At what time is scheduled the meeting this afternoon ?”  
“In twenty-five minutes Sir” replies the assistant looking at the time on his phone  
“Thank God. I’m going for a walk outside, I need some fresh air, I’m taking two men with me”  
“Do you want someone to come with you ?”  
“I’m good, thanks” 

The PM puts a friendly hand on his colleague’s shoulder and leaves. He asks two of his bodyguards to come with him, but to stay at a reasonable distance. He needs some time alone with his thoughts. He never got so obsessed about someone after only meeting them once, and it scares him. Did he get bewitched ? Is he sick ? He checks his temperature with a hand on his forehead, but he doesn’t seem feverish. Then why can’t he stop thinking about Emmanuel ? He feels strange, like an enamored teenager, which hadn’t happen in years… What will Sophie think about this ? She’ll probably say he is being stupid and childish. And she would be right. He keeps walking in the park until he reaches a very tiny chapel, at the far end. He nods to his bodyguards to indicate he’s going in and he closes his jacket before entering. It is really tiny inside, but he doesn’t mind. He sits on one of the benches and closes his eyes. If thinking doesn’t help, maybe a prayer will. 

Emmanuel keeps being distracted all afternoon long. He can’t help but think about Justin, and how much he’d like to see him again. What is wrong with him ? He never felt like that before about another man. And this lust he feels growing inside of him is not fading. The more he thinks about Justin, the more it grows. And that makes him uneasy. He doesn’t want to have that kind of ideas towards another head of state, and especially towards a man who is married, and a happy father. He did his researches, and Justin is clearly the archetype of the good pater familias, not really like him at all. Emmanuel clings to this difference to try and repress this irresistible desire to meet again the handsome Canadian. It is just a passing, it’ll get better. There is no other option. After a long day of business discussions, he is glad to be back to his hotel. He only wants a shower, and a couple hours of sleep. But Edouard decided otherwise. He arrived three minutes before him, and is waiting to see his friend, and President, in the lobby of the hotel. 

“Glad to see you here” indicates Edouard Philippe “How was your afternoon ?”  
“Tiring” whispers the French President “What did you want to discuss with me ?”  
“A bunch of contracts” replies the PM “But you don’t seem in the mood for that”  
“It’ll be okay. Come with me” 

They go to Emmanuel’s room, and Edouard sits at the desk, opening files in front of him. The French President sits on the edge of his bed untying his shoelaces. He also loosens his tie and says to his PM : 

“I’m listening”  
“No you are not” replies Edouard “You are far from here and now. What’s going on ? Are you concerned about something ? Is it about your afternoon discussions ? Or is it about this morning… ?” 

The tone of voice leaves no place to the doubt : Edouard suspects something. And that can’t happen. Despite trusting his friend very much, Emmanuel is not like this. And he won’t let anyone know that he got troubled by the sexy Canadian. This idea makes him smile and he bites his lower lip trying to repress the envy of spilling the beans to Edouard Philippe. This would be so immature and unproductive. And yet, he needs to speak up about it. 

“Emmanuel ?” frowns the Prime Minister now really concerned  
“I am still a bit… troubled by the meeting we had this morning with Justin Trudeau”  
“Troubled ?”  
“I am having weird thoughts about him…”  
“Oh…” 

Edouard Philippe sighs. He knows that his friend always had always been bisexual, and that one day or the other they would face some trouble because of it. But he can’t let his friend get distracted by this. 

“You know this is completely silly” he says  
“I know” admits Macron “But I can’t stop thinking about it. About him...”  
“You are an insufferable romantic Emmanuel, but you can’t let these weird ideas mess with your head. Just imagine the headlines if it came to public knowledge !”  
“I know, I know” assures Emmanuel trying to calm down the discussion before it gets really heated “I am not saying I am going to do anything, I am just confessing that I find Justin very attractive… And you are the only one who can understand… You are the only one who knows...” 

Edouard Philippe sighs again. He wishes he didn’t ask. Now he has to keep that secret as a burden, and as much as he likes Emmanuel, he senses this is going to be trouble in the future. 

“Can we focus on work now ?”  
“I’m all yours” grins Macron “With no hidden intentions” 

They both chuckle and start working on the negotiations Edouard wants his friend to review and comment. 

In his hotel room, Justin is relaxing, his shirt wide open on his bare chest, his tie and jacket, and shoes long gone. He just spent an hour on video call with home, talking to his wife and kids. That was the hardest part of his life : having to leave them behind, when he was travelling around the world. And he missed them really much. He always does. His family is the most important part of his life. By habit more than real interest, Justin browses through Twitter and Instagram on his phone. He likes, before going to bed, checking on what is being said and shared. He smiles seeing that his team published a bunch of pictures from the Commonwealth meeting held this afternoon, and his smile broadens when he notices that the French President liked the publication. It’s probably his team who did it, but still, seeing his name on his screen makes Justin smile. He really had a good day, and meeting with Emmanuel was the highlight of it. And although Edouard Philippe was nice and friendly, something really happened between Emmanuel and himself. Some strange connexion, some unspoken bound that ties them together. 

“Fuck” whispers Justin to himself 

He just noticed that thinking about the French President awoke some desire in his body. It’s been weeks he hadn’t had sex with Sophie, because of hectic schedules for both of them mostly, and he feels really deprived. He’d do anything to be with her tonight and simply pound her until they both fall asleep in each other’s arms. But insidiously, deep below this beautiful daydream, Justin is still thinking about Emmanuel. His blue eyes, his soft lips, his body, tightly underlined by the black suit he was wearing… Pictures, memories flash before his eyes without him being able to keep them from appearing : Emmanuel’s smile, the way he sits, his interested gaze, his hands, the ring on his finger… He stops right there, shaking his head. How can he think like that about a married man ? How insensitive and crazy is he being ? What is going on with him ? This is completely silly… He rushes to his bathroom and turns on the water in the sink. He splashes his face with extra-cold water several times until he is completely rid of any weird thoughts about the French President. 

“Better” he says looking at himself in the mirror 

He can’t let himself being fooled by his sex-deprived mind. And what would Emmanuel think of him if he knew about the lust he awoke in the Canadian ? Profoundly ashamed at himself, Justin finishes stripping down to his underwear and goes to bed, exhausted by too much thinking and talking during the day. Tomorrow will be better. Clearer in his mind at least.


	2. 8th July 2017 - Hamburg, Germany - Playful boys and an honest discussion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As per usual, this chapter is meant to be read with music in the background. Suggestion for this chapter : Some Say (Nea) 
> 
> Please leave a comment after your reading :)

Contrary to popular belief, G20 summit were often boring, especially for the head of states. And that one, in Germany, was no exception to the rule. Leaning against the back of his chair, his arms crossed on his chest, the French President looks around him to the head of states around the table. The Prime Minister of the United-Kingdom embarked them all into pointless discussions about climate changes, GAFAs and he-didn’t-follow-the-rest-of-the-topics. He is exhausted, just back from an three-day state visit in Bolivia and clearly not in the mood for listening to that nonsense. He is not the only one to be bored ; in front of him, sitting on the other side of the table is the Prime Minister of Canada fighting his own body to stay awake. His son had been sick all week, and he stayed up late the previous evening trying to comfort him while being away. Lifting his gaze from the wooden table, he meets the French President’s eyes, and they smile at each other. Working together has been a delight, the two men having the same vision and hope for their countries. They exchanged a lot of professionally during the past months and the beginning of a friendship seems to have developed since their first meet. He looks just as tired as he is, and both of them sigh when the Turkish president take the relay of the boring Brit. 

Emmanuel tries to resist the desire to look at the handsome PM smiling at him. It could lose him. He thought a lot about him in the past weeks, and about how he’d react in his presence. 

The French Foreign Affairs Minister, clears his throat and whispers to the president sitting next to him : 

“How long is this supposed to last ?”

“Until everyone’s done” mutters Macron “The jetlag is killing me” 

“You should try to pay attention” frowns the Minister 

“What for ? You are taking notes anyway” 

Emmanuel smiles. It is very unusual for him to act as cheeky as that, but he is too tired to be his usual self. The hard-working man left his place, for a moment, to the playful boy he is deep inside. His minister keeps taking notes and listening, circling the key words, and annotating his own notes. Emmanuel smiles when he catches Justin looking at him. They really need to talk. As if reading in his mind, Justin discreetly taps his mobile phone, placed on the desk in front of him, looking straight at the French. That is a message. The Canadian hopes his friend understood what he was asking. Trying to stay inconspicuous he keeps going in his silent discussion with the French President. He needs Emmanuel number so they can keep chatting, in a more private, and discreet way. He doesn’t know why they haven’t exchanged their numbers yet. Aren’t friends supposed to have each other’s numbers ? The French nods calmly and he flexes his fingers, in the hope that Justin will understand what it means. He closes his fist and place it on the desk in front of him. Justin grabs a pen and write a zero on the paper in front of him. His minister frowns at him but Justin ignores him. The Turkish is still speaking and it pisses him off. Acting recklessly makes him feel alive. And after the rough night he had, he deserves to have some fun. Emmanuel nods imperceptibly and keeps going. He lays his hands flat on the papers in front of him, six fingers on display. Justin scribbles a six next to the zero, and searching through the back of his mind, he also writes down the country code of France. Emmanuel is grinning, knowing that they are communicating unbeknownst to the other people in the room. And sharing this very secret thing with the man he dreamt about last night is really pleasing him. Justin keeps checking that no one is paying attention to them. Emmanuel then scratches his head, three fingers resting on the side of his face. Justin keeps writing down the code, and it takes them ten minutes in total to exchange the full number. Very slowly, still trying to not attract attention on himself, Justin takes his phone on the desk, and unlocks it, holding it under the table, shielding it from curious eyes. He doesn’t have to look down to it to type his code, but he needs to look down to his knees to type the French’s phone number. He sends a simple “hi” in case he got a number in the code wrong and it ends up in an unknown cell phone. That would be weird. But the French president has drawn his phone out of his shirt pocket and a little buzz indicates the incoming of a new text. His smile enlarges, and he answers the playful Canadian. 

**_You are smarter and cheekier than I imagined Mister Prime Minister_ **

He sends the text, and drops the phone on his desk, waiting for an answer. To not appear too greedy, he tries to pay attention to the discussion around him, but his mind is on a completely different planet. In the past months, he found himself thinking about Justin just a little too much to simply be the beginning of an amazing friendship. And there was still this strange feeling in his lower stomach, everytime the man was near him. Shaking hands with him this morning brought an instant smile on both their lips and they tried to reassure themselves that it was just a sign of them becoming friends. But Justin is troubled much by the French President : there is something in him that awoke strange desires and ideas, and although Justin quickly dismissed them, they were still there. It reminded him of a long long time ago, memories he had long forgotten...

**_I return the compliment. You look exhausted, are you alright ?_ **

Justin is slightly worried to see Emmanuel like that. The French is usually much more dynamic, and full of joy, and charisma. But today he seems a little off. Emmanuel smiles when he sees the text and he wishes to answer but he gets personally involved into the ongoing discussion by the Turkish President. Which means he will be the next one to answer. And for that he needs to listen. He shifts his attention from his cellphone to what the man is saying, trying to get a look at what his minister scribbled down on the paper. The Syrian conflict was once again in the middle of their debate, and he will have to reinforce his military engagement down there, explaining how important it is for the civilians in Syria. Half of the head of states present were on his side, half of them were against him. Evoking the question is like walking on eggshells, trying not to awake the wrath of Putin while ensuring the Europeans remain united as one. But Emmanuel is a professional equilibrist, and his speech, clear and simple, only lasts for about ten minutes, much to everyone’s relief. Especially Justin’s who admires his talents. The French President is an excellent communicant and that is one of the skills Justin finds the most impressive in him. 

**_Jetlag is killing me. You don’t look good either, are you alright ?_ **

He texts Justin just after sitting down, allowing his neighbour, president of China to speak. Justin types his answer under the desk, not looking at his phone in the slightest. That is one of his best skills : typing without looking. It saves a good amount of time, and allows him to do two different things at once. 

**_My son Xavier has been sick all week, and I stayed up late last night trying to “be” with him as much as possible._ **

Emmanuel smiles. Justin has three kids, and the reputation of being a wonderful father to them. And despite not really being a father himself, he understands. Family is something that holds much worth in his heart and mind and he always wants the best for his people. 

**_Hope he gets better soon. You are a good father. How long do you think the discussions will last?_ **

The Canadian smiles. Both of them are eager to get out. It's been two hours they have been seated here, and they need to walk, and talk more openly. Or else they will grow insane. Justin catches Putin looking at him, at the phone he has in his hands, then at Emmanuel and the phone on his desk. And then back at him. Fuck. The Russian president grins and Justin puts his phone back in his pocket, innocently. Emmanuel's eyes are full of interrogation for his friend and Justin tries to make him understand why he isn't answering. Once again, they use their fingers. Vladimir Putin is seated three places down on the right side of the French and Justin taps discreetly three times with his right hand on his desk. Emmanuel nods and turns to his Russian counterpart. The President is still grinning and Emmanuel smiles back. The Russian president is much smarter and funnier than he lets believe, and despite their divergences on various subjects, Emmanuel actually talks with him often and even enjoys doing so. 

"Twenty minutes break" announces the German chancellor, organizer of the meeting, surprising everyone "I think we all need it" she adds with a smile 

Justin is the first one up, rushing outside of the room, his phone in hand to text back Emmanuel. Stretching his legs, and tilting his head on the sides to relax his neck helps him cool down a bit. 

**_Sorry. I think Vlad busted us texting. Not that it matters much to me, but I figured he might use it against us later…_ **

Emmanuel answers in seconds :

**_Getting cold feet Mister Prime Minister?_ **

Justin chuckles and jumps in scare when he feels a hand on the back of his shoulder. 

"Emmanuel" he exclaims turning around to face him "I am so glad to be speaking with you finally" 

As if they were not talking before. But in the middle of the hall, with the most influential head of states of the world, they really need to pretend not misbehaving in the reunion room. 

"You two should not be texting during G20 discussions" drops Putin passing by them on his way to the bathroom "But I understand" he adds with a wink 

Justin grabs a glass of juice on the buffet, and Emmanuel takes a couple of croissants. Something strange is going on between them. Something they can't really define, but something that draws them together, no matter what. A wonderful friendship blossoms between them and they feel good with each other. 

"When do you leave?" questions the Canadian 

"Tomorrow afternoon" replies the French "You?" 

"Tomorrow morning. Let's arrange for an informal dinner tonight, just you and me, to talk. If you're okay with it obviously..." 

Macron blinks several times. How could he say no ? How could he say no when Justin smiles at him like that ? He struggles to form coherent sentences and his answer is pretty unclear to his friend. 

"If I am… Hmm… Yes. I mean, why wouldn't I be? Dinner? Sure…" 

A delicate pink colors Emmanuel's cheeks and Justin laughs. It's cute. Emmanuel finds it adorable. The Canadian hides his trouble behind a laugh but the way Emmanuel answered him made his heart stop for a second. Is he hesitating because he doesn’t want to dine with him ? Maybe he got the signals wrong, and the French only wants to have a strictly professional relationship with him… 

"So it's a yes?" wonders the North-American 

"Definitely" manages to blurt out the French 

He really hopes he will be able to align more than two words in front of Justin tonight, or the dinner will be really long. But they will certainly talk about work. They have to. He must get out of his head this idea that it awfully resembles a date. He wishes it was a date. But Justin certainly didn't mean it that way. How could he? That would be completely illogical. The French hates himself for thinking like that, and he tries to focus back on his friends. he ends up looking at Justin straight in the eyes and his heart skips a beat. Those eyes are a wonder. 

The Canadian sees the unrest in Emmanuel's eyes, and he understands the thinking process is fully on in his brain. He didn't plan that, it just came into his mind on the moment. He wants to spend time with Emmanuel, he wants to know him better, to become good friend with him. He couldn't stop thinking about the surprising and handsome French in the past few weeks, and when they shook hands this morning his fingers lingered a bit longer than necessary in Emmanuel's hand. 

"Those croissants are absolutely disgusting" whispers the French finishing nonetheless his pastries "But I am really really hungry. Talks always open my appetite." 

"Take some juice, it helps" encourages the Canadian "And it'll help you stay awake" 

"That is a good point. But I'll stick to coffee"

The French smiles and goes back to the buffet to grab a cup of coffee. He is about to go back to Justin but the Canadian is now in a deep conversation with the Chinese president and he doesn't want to interrupt. 

"Emmanuel" exclaims the Italian President extending his hand

The French President greets him and they exchange a few opinion on what was discussed before the break. From time to time, Emmanuel keeps glancing at his friend, Justin, in the hope that their eyes will meet. But it doesn't happen. Trying to hide and repress his deception, Emmanuel walks back to the meeting room with his Italian counterpart and they take their seats. The Canadian sits down across the table, smiling at him and typing on his phone

**_At what time do you want to eat tonight ? I'll have our teams arrange the dinner._ **

Emmanuel checks his calendar on his phone and texts his friend back : 

**_8 pm_ **

They don't get the chance to discuss it further as the discussion quickly heats about Syria (obviously) between the Russian President and the Europeans. The next hour consists of head of states taking sides on the conflict, and they finish that meeting without reaching an agreement on anything. Before leaving the room, Emmanuel speaks with his Minister : 

"I really really don't think this morning was productive. And you know how much I hate losing my time" 

"You don't seem to have lost your time very much" replies the Minister pointing at the cellphone of his president buzzing ceaselessly on the table "Is it your wife?" 

"I don't think so" admits Emmanuel keeping himself from jumping on his phone to see what Justin might have texted him "Do you want to have lunch with me so we can discuss the talks of this morning?" 

"Only if you leave your phone in your pocket" answers the Minister with a smile 

"Meet me in ten minutes in the car, and I'll be all yours" 

Emmanuel puts a friendly hand on his minister's shoulder and then leaves the room. Justin vanished already, discussing with Malcolm Turnbull, the PM of Australia, on his way out. But he left a series of messages on his cellphone. 

**_Dinner at 8 downtown. My team will let your team know the address._ **

**_Casual dinner. Don't expect to work, we're having dinner as friends._ **

**_If that's okay with you._ **

**_I hope I am not being too forward with all this. I really believe that you and I are both eager to talk more privately, and it’s been a long time I haven’t had a dinner with a friend._ **

Emmanuel blushes once more. He is on his way to the bathroom and waits until he's done, his hands clean, his thoughts straighter, to answer. He adjusts his jacket, gives a glance at the staircase in front of him and starts typing as he goes down the steps. That's a skill he perfected since he started being involved in politics, and it helped him save some precious minutes of his time each day. 

**_I am very much looking forward to that friendly dinner, Justin._ **

He adds an emoji and sends the text. He deactivates the buzzing mode on his phone and puts it in his pocket, remembering that he promised his full attention to his minister. He joins the man in his car and they go out for a business lunch. It helps to focus on important subjects and delicate matters to not think about Justin and about how sexy Emmanuel thinks he is. The rest of his afternoon goes the same way, between meetings and talks, and it is already seven thirty when he boards his car to go dine with Justin. In the car he texts his wife to let her know that he will call her later, or in the morning, and he then puts his phone away. He removes his tie and open the collar button of his shirt. That is the most casual he can do without going back to his hotel. It’ll have to do. Justin’s team chose a classy but not too expensive restaurant for their dinner. They booked a table far from everything and everyone so that the two head of states can talk in the most private way possible, should they discuss important topics. 

“I want no one in the room” warns Emmanuel to his three security officers “And please stay discreet, no one needs to know that I’m here” 

They all nod and Emmanuel nervously passes a hand through his hair. What is wrong with him ? Friends. They are friends. Justin wants to dine with him as the good friends they are slowly becoming. Nothing more. What is ‘more’ anyway ? The car pulls over in front of the restaurant two minutes before eight. Emmanuel adjusts the length of his sleeves and exits the car. The security guards unboard the car as well and he gives them a dead stare. If they enter the restaurant, he kills them. He enters, and is immediately greeted by a waiter, dressed in plain white. 

“Mister President” says the man “Please follow me” 

Emmanuel follows him to a back room, large, and empty except for the table he will share with Justin. Speaking about the Canadian, he’s not here yet. Emmanuel removes his jacket, puts it on the back of his chair, takes place and waits. 

Justin feels ashamed to be late at the dinner he insisted so much on having. But he couldn’t resist going for a run after his afternoon meetings, and the shower back at his hotel took him longer than expected. Choosing his clothes took him forever, God knows why, and he is now officially a couple of minutes late. He opted for a dark blue jeans, and a plain white shirt. No tie. His hair is still wet from the shower, and much to his despair, curlier than he would them to. His undisciplined hair are the only touch he really hates about himself. He arrives at the restaurant and rushes inside, leaving his security officer at the door. He wants some alone time with Emmanuel. He leaves his blouson at the welcoming desk and the waiter leads his way to the room in which they will be dining, and he smiles when Emmanuel stands up and looks at him arriving. 

“Thanks.” says Justin to the waiter "Sorry I’m late, but I really needed that shower" he explains to Emmanuel while nervously passing a hand through his hair "I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long" 

Emmanuel shakes his head. He had barely been seated for a minute. By habit and reflex he is about to extend his hand to Justin but the man instinctively takes him in his arms in the North-American way. This embrace is short but delightful for both of them. It lasts just a bit longer than it should, and both of them struggle to let go of the other. They finally separate, taking their seats facing one another. Both of them are avoiding eye contact, too ashamed to be admitting to themselves that this was of much more significance than it should have. And too afraid to be reading incomprehension and maybe some disgust in the other’s eyes. They are saved by the waiter who comes back with a pair of menus, and a wine list. They hide behind the menus, choosing carefully what they want to eat. 

“Fish ? Meat ? What’s your thing ?” asks Emmanuel 

“I like both” shrugs Justin “But the chicken ravioli are tempting me very much tonight…” 

Macron lowers his eyes to his own menu and nods. It seems good indeed. 

“Do you want an appetizer ?” asks Justin “Or starter ?” 

“Shrimps” replies Emmanuel “Cooked in coconut milk. There...” 

He points at the item on the menu. Justin smiles. He wouldn’t have thought the French to be eating that kind of food. Very surprising of him. 

“Sirs ?” asks the waiter that none of them heard approaching 

“Two coconut milk shrimps” answers Justin 

“And then two chicken ravioli” completes Emmanuel, delighted to see they are on the same page

“And to drink ?” 

Emmanuel glances at Justin who opens his hands to let him do. He is the wine-expert here. 

“White wine” drops the French President 

“May I suggest an Australian one with your starters ? And then a French Bordeaux for your meal ?”

“We trust you” assures the Canadian “Surprise us” 

They chuckle and hand their menus back to the waiter. He vanishes, and they are left looking at each other, unable to speak. None of them dares to be the first to break the silence. Emmanuel clears his throat, and asks : 

“How was your afternoon ?” 

“Good” nods Justin “I had lunch with the Prime Minister of Australia, then a couple of meetings, and I finished with a run in the park over the hill. Hence the shower… How was yours ?”

“Much more busy” says the French president “But slightly boring in the end. Even if I like my job very much, I still feel jetlagged from my previous trip…” 

“Where were you again ?”

“Bolivia” answers Macron “A very interesting country” 

“I have never been” answers the Canadian “But I’d love to” 

“What is the best country you’ve ever been to ?” 

Justin takes a minute to think. There are a few coming to his mind, but his real favorite is certainly where he spent his honeymoon. 

“Greece” he says “I went there with Sophie for my honeymoon and we had a real blast there…” 

“Because of the country, or because of the honeymoon ?” jokes Macron 

“Both” honestly answers Trudeau “You can imagine…” 

They stop talking for a minute because Justin felt his phone buzzing in his jeans pocket. 

“Sorry” he apologizes “Talking about her…” 

He refuses the call and drops his phone on the table. Tonight is solely for his friend. Exclusively. He sighs when the phone buzzes a second time and refuses the call straight away. 

“You should take it maybe” says Emmanuel trying not to bother too much “It might be important” 

“I’m sure it is not” brushes off the Canadian 

She tries calling a third time only a couple of seconds after. 

“Oh for Christ’s sake ! Excuse me for a minute Emmanuel” apologizes Justin taking his phone and walking away to answer 

“Good evening darling” says Sophie to her husband 

“I can’t talk right now” answers Justin a bit too harshly “I thought you got my text” 

“I did”

“Then why are you calling ?” 

He shouldn’t be talking like that to her, but the idea of her disturbing his dinner with Emmanuel. That dinner he dreamt about for weeks, in secret, that dinner he spent the whole afternoon daydreaming about… He loves her very much, but she is not calling at a right time. And he still doesn’t know why he grew so attached to the French president, but he wants to dwell on that tonight. 

“I have to go. Talk to you later” he says “Sorry” 

“Good evening then” she sighs “I love you” 

“Love you too” he whispers before hanging up 

Why did he whisper ? That is childish, but he believes it was so that Emmanuel wouldn’t hear those words. Apologizing again, Justin shoves his phone back in his pocket and focus back on Emmanuel. His friend. A man he wants to learn more about. 

“What were we saying ? Oh right, travel to foreign countries… What’s your favorite by the way ?”

“Ecuador” replies Macron without a doubt “I went once, years ago, but I keep a vivid memory of it” 

“I heard they have good surf spots here” comments the Canadian 

“Do you ? Surf, I mean” 

“Among other things…” brushes off Justin 

A picture of Justin in a surfing suit pops into Emmanuel’s mind and he blushes. This trouble fades away as they welcome back their waiter with two glasses of white wine. It is very clear, and smells like fruits. Like a summer garden even… Their starters are brought to them the following minute, and they unfold their napkins on their knees before eating. It smells exquisite. Emmanuel starts by taking a sip of his wine. He barely repress an indecent moan. This is really good wine. God forbid this offense to French wine. 

“Conflicted about the wine ?” questions Trudeau amused by his reaction

“As a French, I should probably not say that, but this wine is excellent…” 

“But as my friend, you must certainly say it”

Justin swallows and diverts his eyes from the face of his friend. He doesn’t want to see what those words provoked in him. Not just yet. He is walking on eggshells here. He wants something… He doesn’t know what yet… But there is definitely something worth pursuing in his friendship with the French President. If only the other lets him… This is silly, and an absolute shot in the dark, but his late run helped him put some order in his thoughts. He recalls having the same strange, conflicted feelings in his youth, and he thought them forgotten forever, but apparently the French president awakes something that was dormant in him. Their starters are soon over, and they resume talking, sipping their wine with delight. 

“Nice idea for the starters” comments Justin “It was great…” 

“I hope the main course will be as delicious” says the French 

“I am sure it will be. I was wondering… What do you do in your free time ?” 

The icy blue eyes of the Canadian are looking straight into the blue ones of Emmanuel. And the French blushes a little. They are isolated from the rest of the world, and right now, everything that matters to him is Justin. And that bond growing between them. He mindlessly taps on the table with his right hand fingers and Justin traps the restless fingers in his hand. 

“Sorry” he immediately says “It’s stressing me. Calm down, you have nothing to be stressed about..” 

“But I do” whispers Macron 

Justin frowns but the French dismisses the questions by shifting back to their initial subject. His right hand is still held in Justin’s and it feels right. It is weird, but it feels right. 

“I have little to no free time you know” explains the French President “But I exercise, play piano and go to see some plays with my wife when I manage to fit this in my schedule. Oh and we try to go to the restaurant, Brigitte and I, at least once a month.” 

“I understand the struggle” assures the Canadian eventually removing his hand now that Emmanuel is calmer “Theater guy, then ?”

The French nods and the Canadian continues : 

“That’s how you met your wife if I remember correctly” 

“Somehow” chuckles Emmanuel as the waiter removes their empty plates “She was a teacher at my high-school… And we just… Fell for each other, mostly because of our common taste for good words and French literature” 

“Sounds like a fairytale” 

“It is” smiles Macron “Although it wasn’t simple at the beginning…” 

“Does she have children ?” questions Trudeau, determined to learn more about his friend’s way of life 

“Three” nods the French President “The middle one is my age. We were schoolmates.” 

Justin smile but doesn’t comment. It is unusual, for sure, but he understands the power of true love. 

“What about you ? How did you met your wife ?”

“Sophie and I knew each other since childhood” explains the Canadian “But we reconnected years later through a common friend. And it felt like an evidence for both of us. We kissed, we dated, we got married... ” 

“Three children since ?”

They both did their researches on each other. And it makes them laugh internally. They couldn’t resist looking for more information. Everything about their lives was public and easy to access. 

“Yep. Xavier, Ella-Grace and Hadrien. They are the sunshines of my life…” 

“I know…” 

The Canadian arches an eyebrow, waiting for explanations. 

“I mean” blurts out Emmanuel “I did my researches. You did too I am sure… And the least we can say is that you look amazingly happy with your children. The five of you are the dream family everyone wants to have…” 

“I hear nostalgia in your speech…” 

“Maybe” replies Emmanuel Macron “I really love my wife’s children, and my grandchildren but I sometimes wish I could have had some of my own…” 

“I get that… But trust me, being a good father and ruling a country at the same time is a real challenge” 

“I believe you” 

They both smile and can’t stop looking at each other. There is a communication without words that set between them, and they seem to understand each other perfectly well. Emmanuel got disturbed by the physical contact earlier, and he still tries to breathe normally, and to not let show how much Justin puts him on the edge. Talking of their wives didn’t get them off this weird tension between them. Thank God they are alone in the room. Because that would spark interrogations. Even them both have interrogations about what is going on. They are interrupted in their daydreaming by the waiter who brings their main course. Both of them straighten up in their seats, removing their hands from the table. Once again, it looks delicious and smells wonderful. The waiter comes back again with their new glasses of wine and the Canadian is the first one to seize his glass and taste it. 

“Delicious” 

Emmanuel tastes it as well, and his lips are glistening from the golden liquid. The North-American bites his lower lip to repress the silly urge that crosses his mind and he starts eating. He needs to stop looking at Emmanuel, or he will lose himself in those blue eyes. They eat in silence, but exchange looks and smiles during that time. It is enough for them. And they both need to process this dinner. Emmanuel wants more. He feels it in his body and soul. Why can’t he resist Justin ? And why does the Canadian seem very interested ? He is happy, married, with three kids at home, what can he be looking for in getting involved with him ? Or maybe Emmanuel is mistaken in what he senses from Justin. Maybe he should get that out of his head before it is too late. They are friends. Just friends. Very good ones, but nothing more. He forces himself to keep that in mind. 

“That was insanely good” says the Canadian who just finished his plate 

“I agree” answers the French finishing his “And the wine fits perfectly with it” 

“French wine is always a good match. With anything…” 

“French is always a good match” tries Emmanuel to test his friend 

A shadow of trouble tarnish Justin’s eyes for a second and Macron understands he touched a point there. There is something else than friendship. Something deeper. Bigger ? Justin is questioning himself very much : did he understood correctly what Emmanuel just said ? Or did he extrapolate what he would like to hear ? How can he be sure ? He doesn’t want to make a move that could be misinterpreted, or rejected by the French. And there’s his wife. Both their wives in fact. What are they doing here ? Are they really both thinking about cheating on their wives ? Throwing their marriages to the trash ? What future do they have anyway ? None… The Canadian suddenly feels dizzy and he puts his glass of wine back on the table. All those questions are turning in his head and he can’t stop feeling guilty about all of this. Maybe this dinner was a bad idea. A crazy, absolutely disgusting idea. He should run out of here as fast as possible. 

“Sirs ?” asks the waiter coming to get their empty plates “Do you want a dessert ?” 

“Yes” nods the French President “Justin ?”

“Of course !” smiles the Canadian “What a better way to finish this dinner ?” 

The waiter comes back with two menus so they can choose some dessert and both of them feel much more relaxed now that they sorted their thoughts. Friends. Just friends. They keep repeating that mantra in their heads, in the hope of it finally sinking into their brain and soul. 

“Sweet tooth ?” wonders the Canadian 

“Not much. But I am craving to eat something quite sweet to finish this beautiful day” 

“Then I recommend the strawberries” jokes Justin 

“What about the chocolate mousse ?” replies Emmanuel with a grin 

“Hmm… Good to know that you like chocolate” 

“Only the black one, the bitter one…” 

“Then forget about the chocolate mousse if you want something sweet…” 

They both laughs and Justin makes a suggestion that his friend can not deny : 

“What about I choose yours and you choose mine ? So we see if we quite know each other” 

“Interesting idea” 

“Is there anything you really hate ?”

“Not really. You ?”

“If you could avoid anything dairy, I’d be glad” 

“Noted” 

They both study carefully the menu, trying to find the best option for their partner. Emmanuel decides for a raspberry and lime tart for the Canadian. The North-American however refuses to say to Emmanuel what he chose for him until the waiter comes back. 

“Have you decided ?”

“The raspberry-lime tart” says Macron “And…”

“The full-chocolate plate” grins the Canadian 

“I thought we said something sweet” frowns the French President 

“Changed my mind” shrugs Justin “I believe you will actually like it” 

He surely will. Whatever Justin chose for him can only be delicious. Especially if the Canadian keeps looking at him like that. Stop that ! thinks Macron. Friends. You are two good friends having a dinner. Nothing else. 

“Do you have to get up early tomorrow ?” suddenly asks the North-American

“Six, like every single day of my life” replies Macron “Why ?” 

“Because there is a silly idea crossing my mind… But six is early and you should probably go to bed straight after our dinner” 

“I don’t need much sleep you know” argues the French “What do you have in mind ?” 

“Do you trust me ?”

“Of course !” 

“Then excuse me for a minute, while I go check if that’s possible…” 

Justin gets up and throws a smile at his friend before exiting the room for a couple of minutes. He comes back at the same time as the waiter with their dessert, which gives him a good excuse to not talk about his plan to Emmanuel just yet. The waiter, who doesn’t know they ordered for each other puts the plates in front of them and Justin holds him back before he leaves. 

“Champagne. Two glasses, please” 

“Sure, Sir” 

As soon as he is gone Emmanuel says : 

“Champagne ? Isn’t it a bit too much ?” 

“Trust me” nods the Canadian “Can I get my dessert ?” 

They swap plates, but Justin seems very interested in both desserts. 

“You can taste that if you want” says the French President with a grin pointing at the chocolate fondant with his spoon 

“Thanks” replies Justin 

The waiter brings them two glasses of champagne, and they cheer before taking a sip. It goes perfectly with their dessert and they both smile. 

“So… May I know what you planned ? Is your idea that silly ?” 

“I’m taking you for a stroll. Outside…” 

“Nice idea… We’ll be able to talk more openly” 

They both nod, and their knees brush against each other under the table. 

“Sorry” apologizes the Canadian straightening on his chair “You mentioned your taste for French literature earlier, any other art you might be interested in ?” 

“I like theater, but you already know that...” answers the French between two bites of chocolate cake “... and I have always been interested in all forms of art. I read a lot of french comic books as a kid, and in my early teenage years I turned to music and cinema…” 

“You play piano, right ?”

“Yes. But I do not only play classical tunes” he smiles “I like playing pop standards, and French songs quite freely…” 

“Ease my mind, you do have a piano at the Elysée ?”

“Of course, in the dining-room. Sometimes I just sit there between meetings, and play for a couple of minutes… Or in the evening, after a long day, it helps me relax…”

“Nice habit” comments the Canadian 

“How do you steam off after a long and hard day ?” 

“I try to spend some simple time with my family. My daughter likes to have me tell stories to her. My boys are much more into TV, and we often watch hockey or soccer in the evening…” 

“What about your wife ?” 

“When she is home, because she has a lot of outside engagements, we spend time the five of us. We rarely go out anymore, balancing work and family is already a struggle…” 

“The perks of ruling a country” states Emmanuel with a sympathizing look “You like sports, then ?”

“I like sports in general and practice several” 

“You mentioned surfing” replies Emmanuel “And I know you also do boxing”

“I also run” completes Justin “And I used to swim a lot when I was younger, but I barely have time to do this anymore” 

They smile at each other. They can understand the struggle, and share their views on balancing hectic schedules. Who else could understand it that much ? 

“This tart is absolutely exquisite” says the Canadian “Do you want to taste ?”

“Sure” 

Justin puts some on his spoon, and feeds his friend with it. Thank God they are far from public eyes, because that is the most intimate thing one could do at a dinner. Emmanuel likes the dessert very much and they finish eating. Their fingers are sometimes brushing against each other, sending a cold shiver down Justin’s spine, and an electric surge to Emmanuel’s brain. 

“Champagne was a nice idea, thanks” says Emmanuel “But I am getting tired of being seated” 

“Same here. How trustworthy is your security service ?” asks Justin 

“What do you mean ?” 

“Won’t they spill the beans of us having a walk at night ?” 

“I can’t be sure of that…” reacts Macron “Two of them are newbies and I am not certain yet of how much confidence I have…” 

“I see. Will they mind if you leave them behind ?”

“They’ll do what I tell them to do” shrugs the French President “What about yours ?”

“The best security officers in the world. But there’s only one with me tonight. And my chauffeur” 

“You bring your chauffeur with you on international travels ?” exclaims Emmanuel truly shocked 

“Sometimes” 

They exchange a smile and Justin keeps going : 

“Tell your officers to wait for you at my hotel. We’ll take my car, and I’ll drop you back there” 

“Isn’t it too risky to only bring one security guy ?”

“It’s fine” brushes off Justin “I do it all the time” 

“Except you live in Canada, and everyone likes you” 

“What do we risk here ? I mean… Donald or Vladimir, I could understand… But you and me ?” 

Emmanuel likes that side of his friend. Chill and down-to-earth. A more relaxed approach to ruling a country than he has. But they live on different sides of the planet, on opposite time zones and the culture they were raised in are completely different. 

“Do you often go out in… Ottawa ?”

“Yep” answers the Canadian “I walk my kids to school at least once a week, I jog obviously, and take part in many different events around the country. Nothing ever happened to me. My father… I don’t know if you stumbled upon that in your researches, but my father was a former Prime Minister of Canada, and he had that very simple, easy way to rule the country. I learned from him…” 

Emmanuel nods. He read about that. Last week, when planning his trip down here, trying to calm his nerves about this reunion with Justin. He doesn’t understand why he got so stressed about today. 

“Fine for me then. Let’s pay and leave here” 

“Uh-uh” reacts Justin “I pay. I invited you here and…” 

Emmanuel is about to cut his sentence but the Canadian frowns. 

“Fine” sighs the French 

They leave the room, Emmanuel putting his jacket back on his shoulders and he exits the restaurant to brief his security service on the latest arrangements while the Canadian pays for their dinner. The officers try to counter the orders of their boss, but the President insists and finally obtains from them to obey. With a lot of reluctance. 

“All good ?” asks Justin coming out of the restaurant 

“Yes” nods the French President 

“Don’t you have a coat ? A jacket ?” 

Justin is zipping up his blouson, to keep from freezing. Even at that time of year, Germany is windy and the air chilly. And the night is clear, which also means it will be cold. 

“I hadn’t really planned on going out tonight” explains the French 

Trudeau lifts his eyes to the sky and opens the door of his car which just stopped in front of them. His security officer climbs on the front seat, and he lets Emmanuel climb in the back seat, following him in. 

“You really are inconsistent” grumbles Justin “Going out without a coat. Damn French people...” 

He looks below his seat and draws a duffel bag from under it. Emmanuel is looking at him with surprise and not really understanding what he is doing. Justin zips the bag open and searches through it. 

“You can thank me for always having a set of clothes in my car. Winter and sports clothes, in case I go for an impromptu run” 

The French President chuckles. Really ? Justin draws a dark blue parka from the bag and drops it on his knees. 

“You are going to catch a cold without a jacket. Put that on” 

Emmanuel obeys, and Justin also gives him a black baseball cap. He gets for himself a grey knitted cap and hides his hair underneath it. Dressed like that, and in the middle of the night, they are almost unrecognizable. Which will ensures their security even further. 

“Where are we going ?” asks Macron 

“Remember that I told you I had a run before joining you for dinner ?”

Emmanuel nods. 

“Well, that park is really great, I am taking you there…” 

“Is it open at that time ? And safe ? And empty ?” 

“Calm down Emmanuel” whispers Justin checking that neither his driver or security guard are paying attention to them “It’s going to be just fine” 

They smile at each other and Justin takes this short ride time to update his bodyguard on the plan. 

“I need you to keep a light surveillance, Bart. Just make sure no one crosses our path. I really need to talk in private with the French President” 

“Sure thing, Sir” nods the man in response “How long do you think you will stay ?”

“No idea” honestly answers the Canadian “But a good portion of the night” 

“Alright. Where do we go then ?”

“Back to the hotel” says Justin “Emmanuel will be picked up by his team there” 

“Okay” 

They are arrived. The car stops and Justin and Emmanuel promptly exit the car. Emmanuel takes his time to close the parka, and he has to admit it was a good idea : he doesn’t feel the cold anymore. Justin smiles at him and starts walking. Emmanuel follows, hands in his pocket, his mouth and nose hidden under the collar of the coat. No one could suspect that they are two of the most powerful leaders of the world, embarking for a crazy adventure. The bodyguard follows them from afar. He is far enough to not hear them, or see their face, but close enough to keep an eye on them. The park is wide, and they slow down their pace, wanting to enjoy this time together. None of them wants to be the first one to talk and break that fragile silence between them and it takes them more than five minutes to finally speak to each other. 

“So…” finally says Emmanuel “Any tips for a newbie like me ?” 

“Do you really see yourself like that ?” frowns the Canadian in response 

“Not really” assures Macron “But I could still use a few tips. You’ve been in charge for almost two years now, and I have only been there for two months…” 

“Two main advice then… One : never, ever, forbid yourself to do something you value personally. If you really feel like going to the theater with your wife, then go ; if both of you want to have a nice romantic dinner, do it ! Second advice : put a team in charge of reading the comments on your social media for you. Never dive in it by yourself, you’d drown and get discouraged. Ask them to make you a note of the good ideas and propositions they might stumble upon. And don’t forget that people will try to hurt you to take you down…” 

“That sounds very useful indeed” reacts Emmanuel with a smile 

They are still walking, their arms brushing against each other but it does not bug them. Emmanuel is still hoping to get a sign that something is going to arise between them, and Justin is fighting with his own teenager demons. 

“What about the other head of states ? Should I know something in particular ?”

“Barack Obama was a delight” laughs Justin “Open-minded and wanting the best for his country, like the both of us. Oh and he speaks a little French with a lovely accent… Donald however is… well, you’ll see...” 

They both laugh and then the Canadian keeps going : 

“Putin, you know him better than me, but Vladimir is very very smart. Like… genius smart, so never try to outrun him.” 

“Did you… ?” 

“Yes” sighs Justin “The first time we met, we were supposed to talk about climate change and bilateral trade but I really wanted to talk with him about human rights…” 

Emmanuel turns to Justin. The Canadian is lost in his thoughts, remembering the very bad encounter. He eventually keeps talking : 

“I made the mistake of starting with human rights. And he listened… Then he asked very detailed questions, statistics, numbers I didn’t know, international laws I forgot to check before seeing him… He had heard about my intention to talk about that topic and he worked on it. I didn’t… He concluded with something along ‘come back to talk to me about human rights when you know your figures and laws’... I was really embarrassed…” 

“I can imagine. He is surprising indeed. By the way, what do you think he’s thinking about us after catching us texting during international meetings ?”

“He thinks we are two teenagers, who don’t work enough for the level of power we have” says Trudeau with a grin. 

They keep walking up the hill, at a slow pace. Justin’s guard stopped to light a cigarette and he keeps an eye on them from afar. But there are absolutely no risks, given that they are alone in the park… Emmanuel lifts his gaze to the sky : the night is clear and the stars are bright. But the air is cold and he is thankful for the parka lent by his friend. 

“Oh and… I heard we’re both invited to the State Dinner at Buckingham next March” adds Justin “Have you ever met the Queen ?”

“No. You ?”

“Of course. She is the Queen of my country. She’s somehow my boss you know…” 

Justin is amused. People always forget that he is only the Prime Minister of a country ruled by a Queen. Of course she never intervenes in state business, but her presence must never be forgotten. And Justin got the chance to met her shortly after his election, and he keeps a vivid memory of it. 

“How is she ?”

“Bright and impressive” quickly answers Justin “Sophie couldn’t look at her for the ten minutes she was talking to us…”

“What about you ?”

“Well, I had no other choice but to try not stuttering in front of her. But she is funny and very lively for her age… You’ll see…” 

“Yeah, I’ll see” 

They pause, look at each other with a smile and keep walking. This time it’s the French president who starts talking again : 

“You were right about having a walk. I feel better talking with you here, than we were in the restaurant…” 

“Fuck” softly swears Justin “I promised my team that we’d take a picture together at the restaurant, to illustrate us working together…” 

“Next time” assures Emmanuel “My team hates me for all the secrets meeting I am having and they can’t document. They literally beg me for taking pictures with the different head of states I am meeting…” 

“I don’t think a picture of us walking under the moonlight is very instagrammable, but I’d be pleased to have one saved in my phone…” 

Emmanuel blushes slightly, but in the night Justin can’t see it. Of course he wants it too. So he can look at Justin, and remember this amazing night every time he needs a little bit of comfort. 

Justin is quicker to draw his phone out of his pocket, and he grabs Emmanuel by the shoulders to pull him closer. This closer contact disturbs them slightly, but they try to save appearances and not let go of their composure. To be completely honest with himself, Justin did that on purpose. He wanted to feel Emmanuel closer to him, just to see if he is really feeling what he seems to be feeling. And the answer is obvious : yes. Yes, those wild ideas he got in his head after meeting the French president for the first time were real, and they are now stronger than before. But how could he make a move on a married man ? Does he even want to make that move ? Shouldn’t it stay a project, a fantasy ? A wild dream. Only a wild dream he keeps repeating himself. Stop fucking dreaming Justin ! 

“Smile Emmanuel” he instructs as he snaps a couple of selfies of them both 

They both grin for the pictures and Justin immediately sends them on Emmanuel’s phone. 

“Thanks” answers the French “It’s a nice memory” 

“Don’t show it to your team, they would beg you to publish it” 

“I won’t…” 

They chuckle and keep walking. They are now on the top of the hill and the city is shining at their feet. It looks amazing, mesmerizing somehow, and the two of them observe silently. The main streets are brightly lit, and the smaller ones are lesser bright, which looks almost like an abstract painting from where they are. 

“Who knew Germany could be that beautiful ?” exclaims Justin 

“You should come to Paris, you’ll love it !” answers Emmanuel with a big smile “Paris is absolutely delightful at night…” 

“I have been to Paris before” says Trudeau “But I’d be happy to see it again with you if that is what you are suggesting” 

“That is exactly what I am suggesting… And although I really love spending time alone with you, I guess you won’t come to France without your wife and kids, and I’d be happy to give them a tour too…” 

“Sophie will love it” nods Justin “Thanks Emmanuel” 

The French President loves how his name sounds between the thin lips of his friend. With his accent, Justin makes it sound exotic, and that is adorable and sexy at the same time. But Emmanuel needs to keep his head cold. Justin is married, a happy father and family man, and they will never be more than friends. Even though this idea would not entirely displease him, Emmanuel classifies it in the “craziness of the moment” file and tries not to think too much about it. But those clear blue eyes are his weakness, and when Justin turns back to him, Emmanuel slightly blushes. Fuck. Keep your head cold Emmanuel, he is just a friend. A very good one, but just a friend. Nothing more. 

“We should go back now” indicates Justin tilting his head on the side “I need more sleep than you unfortunately…”

“People that sleep more than me are usually more-balanced in life” answers the French “But I have got too much on my plate to sleep more than six hours per night…”

“Excuse the question but… do you count the time you spend with your wife in bed in these six hours ?” 

Emmanuel can not believe his ears. Did Justin really asked that question ? Oh God ! This is so inappropriate. But the grin on the Canadian’s face indicate that he is not really expecting an answer. Just teasing his friend. And he is very proud of his joke. 

“You are…” 

“Proud of my joke ? Absolutely !” 

“You are insane Justin !” exclaims Emmanuel laughing nonetheless “And dirtier than I imagined” 

“Only when I’m tired, and when I trust the people around me” 

“Does that mean you trust me ?”

“Of course ! We are… friends, aren’t we ?” 

The Canadian PM hopes his friend didn’t notice the slight hesitation in the middle of his sentence. But with the surprised look he is giving him, he can’t be sure. 

“Of course we are” brushes off Emmanuel “Very good friends” 

Unbeknownst to the other, they keep repeating that word in their head : friends. Just friends. Simply friends. Nothing more, nothing less. And certainly not anything of this crazy idea that pass through their mind from time to time. They are back to their starting point, and the car is waiting for them. Justin opens the rear door and Emmanuel climbs inside, followed by his Canadian friend. The car starts, and drives smoothly on the empty roads. Emmanuel unzips his parka and removes it. He gives it back to Justin saying : 

“Thanks. I might get used to always have a coat in my car thanks to you…” 

“It sometimes saves you a lot of trouble” nods Justin 

Emmanuel removes the cap from his head and passes a hand through his hair to put them back in their usual place. By reflex, and without really thinking, Justin helps his friend arrange his hair. Each time Justin’s fingers touch the top of his head Emmanuel resists the urge to grab the man’s hand and pull him closer. This is a really intimate thing that he is doing, but he doesn’t seem to notice. Or bother. But the temperature is suddenly unbearable between them and Emmanuel escapes the friendly fingers. 

“Sorry” he says “My hair is undisciplined anyway…” 

“What should I say about mine ?” replies Justin hiding the slight disappointment he is feeling 

He removes his hat and shakes his head, his messy hair flowing and finding their natural place. 

“Fuck” he swears “It must look horrendous” 

He checks himself in the car window and try to fix his haircut. He really needs to get a new one. 

“I like your messy hair” smiles Emmanuel “It looks cute. And makes you look younger” 

“Are you saying that I’m old ?”

“Of course not” laughs the French President “I wouldn’t dare” 

“I wouldn’t mind if it came from you” replies the playful Canadian “But you are only six years younger than me you know…” 

“And I am in a very good place to say that age doesn’t really matter” 

“You got a point there” reacts Justin with a smirk “May I ask how old is your wife ?” 

“We are nearly twenty years apart” answers the man “But I don’t care” 

“I know. And I understand. Really…” 

“How old is Sophie ?” 

“She is two years younger than me” replies the Canadian “But she is much more mature than I am to be honest…” 

“But you are the Prime Minister of a large and powerful country…” 

“I was destined for it. Hear me out, once, when I was still a baby, the President of the United States came for an official visit in Canada, my father was then the Prime Minister. That man saw me, and told my parents, very seriously, that one day I’ll take my father’s position at the head of the state…” 

“Who was that ?”

“Nixon” 

“Wow… A good prediction indeed…” 

“I was only four months old. I guess he was just trying to be nice… But that is a pretty cool story to tell” 

“Definitely” 

They are arrived at the Canadian’s hotel, and Justin checks through the window that no journalists are waiting for him. But in the middle of the night, no one is around. They exit the car, and the French nods at his security officers waiting for him leaning against his car. 

“That was a really nice evening Justin” says the French “Thanks for shutting my brain off from work for a while” 

“It was a pleasure for me” replies the Canadian opening his arms to hug his friend 

Their embrace lasts slightly too long for being only platonic, but none of them notices. Their bodyguards however feel a bit embarrassed to see them in each other’s arms for so long. Emmanuel breaks their hug and clears his throat. He is blushing really hard and under the spotlights of the hotel entrance, this is not something Justin could not have noticed. But the cheeks of the Canadian are also colored. 

“Thanks again” whispers Emmanuel “You should go to bed now” 

“Yeah. Probably…” 

They look at each other for a long while, and a cold wind starts blowing, making them both shiver. 

“You are going to catch a cold” laughs Justin nervously scratching the back of his head “Go now” 

Emmanuel turns his heels and boards his car, resolutely not turning back to watch Justin. Saying goodbye feels oddly bitter tonight, and he would have enjoyed a couple more minutes with him. Justin puts his hands in his blouson pockets and climbs to his hotel room, closely followed by his bodyguard. 

“Thanks Bart for tonight. And as usual, not a word to…”

“Anyone” completes the man “As usual. Good night Justin” 

“Good night Bart” 

Justin enters in his room and closes the door behind him. He locks the door and gets rid of his jacket. He throws it on the bed and rushes to the bathroom. He feels blue. Blue and restless. What is going on inside of him ? What is wrong with him ? He leans over the sink, and looks at himself in the mirror. His hair is a nightmare, and he looks exhausted. But there is a bright smile on his lips, and a lovely pink on his cheeks. He needs a shower. That’ll help clear his mind. Fifteen minutes later, with only a towel around his hips he goes back to his room and throws his dirty clothes in his open suitcase. The shower didn’t help. He kept thinking about those emotions, those feelings, those sensations he rediscovers when Emmanuel is around. He tried all his life to repress them, but they are coming back to him with force, and at a very inappropriate and unexpected moment of his life. Is this the midlife crisis knocking at his door ? Strange coincidence, his phone buzzes on his nightstand at the exact same moment. He seizes it and looks at it : it’s Emmanuel. 

**_Still up ?_ **

He answers immediately, grinning up to the ears.

**_Yes. Missing me already ?_ **

The French answers almost immediately :

**_There is something I want to try. Keep your phone with you_ **

Justin lies down on his bed, one arm behind his head, and he waits. Less than two minutes later, an incoming video call arrives and he accepts it without thinking. The smiling face of the French President pops up on his phone screen and Justin smiles back. 

“Good to see you” says the Canadian “How come you video call ?”

“I asked my team to put on a secure line for us to talk” explains the French 

“Secure ?”

“It’s encrypted” adds the President with a grin “Which means I could give you the nuclear codes, or industrial secrets, or personal confidences without the risk of anyone ever knowing…” 

“Nice” 

Emmanuel stops, staring at his screen. He tried to obliviate this fact before, but Justin is not wearing anything, and that troubles him very much. The North-American notices the trouble and understand when he sees Emmanuel passing a finger in the collar of his shirt, to get some fresh air. He tilts his phone upwards so Emmanuel can only see his face, and not half of his chest like before. They don’t say anything, but both of them are ashamed of that moment. 

“I am not going to keep you up for long” says the French President clearing his throat “I just wanted to check that the line was properly working” 

“Well, it is. And I am delighted to see your face” 

They grin at the same time, which makes them laugh even more. Before hanging up, Emmanuel shows his hotel room to Justin, who has absolutely no intention to go to sleep now that he is talking with his friend. 

“You look exhausted Justin” says the President “Go to bed, we’ll talk again tomorrow if you want…” 

“But tonight was excellent and…” 

“Go to bed” cuts Macron “You should see your face” 

“I am actually seeing it, right there, in the bottom left corner of my screen. And I think I look pretty handsome” 

Shit. Did he say that out loud ? Justin closes his eyes and bites his lip. Maybe he is indeed extremely exhausted. And he probably should sleep before he says something he might regret later. 

“You look like someone who needs to go to bed” replies the French with amusement in his voice “Good night Justin. I am glad we are friends…”

“Good night Manu’” answers the Canadian without thinking 

Emmanuel smiles. Only his closest friends call him like that. And in the mouth of the Canadian it sounds absolutely charming. They both hang up and sigh as soon as the call ends. What are they going to do now ? Temptation will be higher than ever with this secure line between both of their phones, and none of them knows if they might manage to resist it. Justin, exhausted just like his friend underlined, falls asleep shortly after. Emmanuel doesn’t go to bed for two more hours, trying to calm his nerves, his trembling hands, and his aching heart by catching up with work. He reviews political declarations from several head of states, trying to keep his mind from thinking about Justin. But nothing works. The handsome Canadian’s face keeps popping up in his head, alongside the glimpse Emmanuel got of his naked upper chest. And there is this familiar tingling in his lower stomach, that he’d rather not have. Highly inappropriate ! Justin is a friend. Justin is a good friend. Justin will never, ever, be more than that. He keeps repeating that in his mind until he goes to bed and falls asleep : delighted with his day, but confused about everything he is feeling. 

  
  
  
  
  



	3. August 14th 2017 - Ottawa, Canada - The past is in the past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.   
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 3 : Secret Love Song (Little Mix)

Justin finishes lacing his shoes and tie and rushes downstairs in the kitchen. Xavier, Hadrien and Ella-Grace are having breakfast, half-asleep still. Sophie is leaning against the countertop, drinking her coffee and keeping an eye on their family. 

“Hi Dad !” says their eldest 

“Hi kids” answers Justin “I am sorry, but I can’t have breakfast with you this morning, I am already late…” 

He grabs a toast with butter and jam on the table, and takes a minute to kiss each of his children on the forehead. 

“Have a good day at daycare.” he whispers to the young one “Try not to fight with anyone.” 

“Yes, Dad...” 

He then proceeds to grab Sophie by the waist and kiss her passionately. He does that on purpose, they both do, knowing that their children hate seeing them kissing like that. 

“Eeerk” reacts Xavier 

“Gross” adds his sister “Could you… Not do this ? Please” 

Justin laughs and plants a softer kiss on his wife’s lips. 

“I love you” he whispers “Have a good day” 

He then storms out of the kitchen, eating his toast and grabbing his coat and wallet before leaving the house. He completely forgot that he had his medical check-up scheduled at eight thirty in his office, and he got up late, wanting to enjoy morning cuddle with his wife… Until it flashed in his mind. This examination is mandatory for him, and it is usually thorough, taking at least an hour of his time. But hopefully, the doctor is coming directly to his office, to save him some time, and allow him some privacy. Justin trusts the man, he was a friend of the family before he became his doctor, and Justin has known him all his life. In his car, he tries to arrange his haircut, flattens his tie and checks on his phone that he received no text. He arrives at his office ten minutes later, and he discusses with his bodyguard on the way there.

“Hi Bart. How were your holidays ?”

“Very nice Sir, thanks.” 

“I told you to call me Justin” reacts the PM “Please. Sir makes me feel old.” 

“Sorry Sir… I mean… Justin” 

“Could you make sure no one disturbs me for the two hours to come ? Except my wife, she’s suppose to come and see me after dropping the kids to school.” 

“Sure thing Justin” answers the guard “Are you having your doctor’s appointment this morning ?”

“Well, apparently you checked my agenda more than I did. I had completely forgotten about that until this morning.” 

“Ask me next time !” jokes the guard 

Justin grins and thanks him as he enters in his office. He gets behind his desk, and drops his jacket on one of the empty seats of the room. He puts his phone on the table, and he is about to sit down and start his laptop when soft knocks can be heard on the door. 

“Come in !” he shouts “Please” he adds

He stands up and greets his doctor, inviting him to sit down in the chair in front of his desk. While they start talking, Justin opens the sleeve buttons of his shirt and rolls his sleeves up on his arms. 

“How are you doing Justin ?” asks the man 

“I’m doing fine, what about you ?”

“Oh you know… Like an old man…” 

“Come on !” reacts Justin “You are not that old.” 

“I was your father’s doctor Justin.” replies “I know you since you were a baby…” 

“Hmmm” nods the PM “Then you are probably right...” 

He smiles and the doctor grabs a whole file in his briefcase. Justin’s name is written on it and the PM cringes when he sees the quantity of paper that have to be filled. This medical examination is really thorough and it will take them forever to go through all of this. It starts with questions about his general health, lifestyle, and if anything changed recently in his life. 

“Still boxing ?” asks the doctor after a couple other questions 

“When I get the chance, yes” answers Justin “Also I’d like to have more time to practice.” 

“What about your left wrist ?” 

“It hurts from time to time, but I manage...” 

His left wrist got sprained in a boxing practice years ago, but it is written in his medical file, and the doctor never misses a chance to remind him of it. He is absolutely meticulous, and that’s what made Justin chose him to keep an eye on his health. 

“You missed the effort test last year Justin, I’m going to have you pass it this year.” 

“You’re kidding, right ?”

“Unfortunately I am not. I need to make sure your heart can follow…” 

“I am running, boxing, and working, and you still wonder if my heart is beating correctly ?” 

“I don’t make the rules Justin. I can squeeze you between two appointments at the clinic this afternoon, if that’s okay for you.” 

Justin checks his calendar on his phone and sighs. He was supposed to have a couple of meetings, but nothing he can’t reschedule later. 

“Fine” he sighs with resignation “I’ll come this afternoon. But this is silly.” 

“I know. And I agree… But it’s not up to me and you know that.” 

They keep discussing for a while : dietary habit, sleeping patterns, travels requirements… Nothing is left untouched. 

“I got everything on papers” indicates the doctor “Now I need to examine you. And I need to draw some blood.” 

“About that…” 

Justin hesitates. Something crossed his mind without him really grasping the detail of it. he focuses and reconnects with his train of thoughts. 

“Hmm.. Yes… Uh… The blood test. What exactly do you check in that ?”

“If your levels of sugar, cholesterol, et caetera are okay. Why ? Is there something in particular we should be looking for ?”

“Could you… Is everything we say here strictly confidential ?” asks Justin 

“Of course. Is there something you want to talk to me about ?”

“Could you check for potential STDs ?” asks the Prime Minister 

“Are you having an extra-marital affair ? Not that it bothers me, but I need to know what we are looking for here…” 

“No, of course not. I just… Just do it, will you ?”

“It is my duty, as a doctor and as a friend, to let you know that not all sexual practices are healthy, and if you are concerned about anything you should probably tell me here and now…” 

“I am not cheating on my wife.” repeats Justin calmly “Can you do that or not ?” 

Sensing that Justin is not going to say anything else, the doctor simply write the name of several STDs on his paper and he gets up, fetching his medical kit to examine the man. Justin feels nervous and his hands shake a little as he unbuttons his shirt. He is bare-chested underneath and the cold stethoscope makes him shiver. The doctor listens to his heartbeat, to his breathing, and he then proceeds to check his eyes, ears, nose, mouth. Sophie, Justin’s wife, arrives when her husband is about to close his shirt and give his arm for the blood draw. 

“Good morning Sophie” says the doctor “It is always a pleasure to see you.” 

“The pleasure is all mine.” she says shaking hands with him “How’s my husband doing ?”

“Fit as a young man...” replies the man with a grin “But he needs to be more compliant with the required tests.” 

She laughs and leans over the seat to kiss Justin tenderly. The doctor, who has not forgotten about what Justin said earlier, but doesn’t want to embarrass him, tries another approach. 

“Sophie, now that you are here, you might, maybe, help me check some boxes on the sexual health bill of your husband.” 

Justin sends him a killer look and the doctor bites his lip. Maybe he shouldn’t have. But he needs to know. It is his duty, as a doctor to ask those questions, even if they are embarrassing. 

“Sure” nods the woman sitting on the corner of the desk while the doctor prepares the needle to draw some blood from Justin’s left arm. 

The PM is slightly nervous, and his palms are sweaty. What questions is the man going to ask ? How embarrassing will it be ? 

“This is going to be quite personal, I’m afraid.” warns the man “But it will stay strictly confidential, don’t worry...” 

The couple nods, and Sophie absentmindedly plays with the hair on the back of her husband’s head. 

“How often are you having sex in the week ?”

“Once or twice” answers the woman with a grin “It depends if Justin is travelling around the world or not…” 

“It also depends on the kids.” adds Justin “We have very lively children that sometimes take all our energy in the evenings.”

“Are you using any kind of contraception ?” questions the doctor 

“I have a IUD” explains Sophie “We’re not using anything else…” 

“Condoms sometimes” corrects Justin 

“Yeah, Justin’s right. Sometimes.” she reacts 

The doctor scribbles down condoms and IUD on his paper and keeps going. He reviewed most of the questions before with Justin, but the PM’s demand was certainly not coming out of nowhere and he needs to understand. He needs to narrow down the problem. 

“Do you sometimes, include a third-party in your intercourse ?” 

Sophie frowns, looks at her husband and replies : 

“No ! Of course not, why would we do that ?” 

“Some people do...” simply shrugs the doctor 

“Sophie, did you get tested for STDs since you are involved with Justin ?” 

“I did get tested before we got involved” she answers “But not since. Why ? Is that a problem ?” 

“Not at all.” says the doctor “Clean bill I assume ?” 

“Yes” she says with a grin “Hence the no condoms and three kids we since have…” 

Justin chuckles and clears his throat. Sophie can be really impertinent sometimes, and it’s that funny side of her he loves so much. 

“How many sex partners did you both have in the last ten years ?” 

“One” they answer immediately and without hesitation 

As if they were going to say anything else. If any of them were cheating, they would certainly not admit it in front of the other. 

“Anal sex ?” asks the doctor 

“Do we really have to answer that ?” reacts Justin keeping his wife from answering straight away “How on Earth does that matter to you ?” 

“It’s part of the risky practices I have to check, and inform you about if needed.” 

“Rarely.” cuts Sophie sensing her husband boiling “And always with protection if that’s what you want to know.” 

“Fine.” 

The doctor stops his questions for a while as he straps an elastic band around Justin’s arm, and look for the veins. He finds one, and inserts the needle. Justin doesn’t even flinch, but Sophie tries not to look at the blood flowing from her husband’s arm into the various tubes. She glances at the labels he prepared for the tubes and she is surprised to see various diseases name. Sexual ones. She frowns. If she is clean, and if Justin is, or was when they met, why would he test for that ? 

“Do you always check for STDs in your patients blood ?” she asks pointing at the labels 

Justin flinches slightly, contracting his fist, and hurting himself with the needle in his arm in the process. 

“Sometimes.” answers the doctor trying to arrange the position of the needle so that the blood keeps flowing “Nothing to worry about Sophie, if you don’t get involved into risky practices…” 

Justin exchange a glance with his wife, trying to reassure her. But she is not completely. 

“May I finish the questionnaire ?” says the doctor withdrawing the needle and applying a band-aid on Justin’s arm 

“Go on” says the PM “Let’s get this over with.” 

“Is there anything in particular in your sexual life that you need to tell me about ?”

They both shake their heads and he continues : 

“No erectile dysfunction ?”

“Oh don’t worry, he’s fine.” laughs Sophie “A bit too much even...” 

Justin blushes slightly and Sophie gently tugs on the back of his hair to tease him. 

“Vaginal dryness ? Pain ?” 

“Nothing of the sort” says Sophie “We’re good.” 

“Good, good” nods the doctor “I must warn you both though, that there are many risk factors that can impact your sexual health, and should you need a medical opinion on your practices, you can always come to see me. And if you get any itching, nausea, fever, you should consult immediately...”

He stares at Justin who nods in response. He doesn’t bother to look at Sophie, knowing that she is not really his patient here. 

“I’ve got everything for now.” says the man with a smile “Justin you drop by this afternoon at the clinic, at anytime.”

“Clinic ?” asks Sophie 

“Effort test” brushes off his husband “He says it is mandatory.” 

“It can’t do you bad” says Sophie to his husband “Thanks doctor, I’ll make sure he doesn’t forget...” 

They shake hands with him and he leaves the office, closing the door behind him. Sophie grabs the arm of her husband and makes him turn to her. She hits him at the back of the head. Justin massages the area, turning to her as he says : 

“Ouch. What was that for ?”

“Are you cheating on me ?” she asks crossing her arms on her chest 

“What ? No, of course not honey ! Why would you think that ?”

“Did you hear the questions he asked ? The various STDs you are going to be tested for ? The very insistent look on his face ?” 

“It’s nothing Sophie” answers Justin placing his hand on her knee “He is just being thorough. It’s been years since my last medical check-up, and he wanted to be sure…” 

“Justin !” reacts Sophie “That was far more than the necessary requirements for your function ! You are not the bloody president of the United States !” 

“Why are you screaming ?” 

Justin sighs and takes his face in his hands. Fuck. His day couldn’t start worse than with a fight with Sophie. Fuck. Why on Earth did he felt the need to ask about STDs testing ? Why ? Deep down he knows, but refuses to admit it. He knows why he did that, and he is ashamed of it… Sophie can’t know. She can never know about that. Never. 

“Justin ?” she asks half-angry, half-concerned “Talk to me !” 

“I’m sorry I…” 

She doesn’t wait for the end of his sentence. She doesn’t want to hear him confessing whatever he did. She’s not ready for that. She puts her hand on his mouth and warns : 

“Not a word more or I am going to get really angry” 

“Sophie” he says removing her hand “It’s not what you think it is. I didn’t cheat on you. I would never !” 

“Did you think about cheating on me Justin ? I need you to be honest with me…” 

He hesitates a second too-much before answering : 

“No ! No I didn’t ! Never !” 

But she does not believe him anymore. She doesn’t know if she can trust him, and that hurts her more than the idea that Justin might have thought about another one. 

“Sophie please” says Justin

“Stop talking” she harshly replies “You don’t get to talk… I’ll see you tonight at home.” 

She escapes his hands and leaves. 

“SOPHIE ! Wait !” he calls standing up to follow her 

But she does not turn back. She slams the door shut behind her and he gives up on following her. He knows his wife, and he knows that she needs time to calm down. He lets himself down on his chair and takes his head in his hands once more, elbows resting on the desk. Fuck. He hates himself for putting her in the middle of this. His phone starts buzzing on his desk, and he picks up the call without looking at the screen, realizing that he should probably get to work anyway. 

“Yes ?”

“Justin ?!” 

This voice makes his heart sink and he forces himself to look up. The French President is smiling on his screen, waiting for him to answer.

“Am I disturbing anything ?” he asks “You look terrible” 

“I…” 

Justin stops and stares at the blue eyes. Those eyes he’d get damned for. Those eyes he doesn’t want to resist anymore. Those eyes that got him in trouble with his wife… 

“Justin ? Are you alright ? I can call you later if you want me to.”

“I’m… I just had a fight with Sophie to be honest, and I feel quite miserable.” 

“Oh. Do you want to talk about it ?”

“Not really” sighs Justin “I lost enough time this morning already, I can give you five minutes and then I’ve got to work. Let me simply reschedule my afternoon appointments and I’m yours...” 

Emmanuel nods, and sits deeper in his seat. He’s at his desk, in France, Justin recognizes the decor. They were having video chats every other day at least, sometimes every day. Justin gives a call to his assistant and asks her to reschedule his meetings. When he hangs up, he focuses on his friend, trying to repress and ignore the growing heat in his lower belly. He desires Emmanuel. It is now clear. But he can not act on that desire. 

“Did you want to discuss something in particular ?” asks the Canadian to his friend 

“No” replies the French with a grin “I was only thinking about you.” 

Calm your nerves Justin. He said that as a friend. As. A. FRIEND. 

“I like talking with you Manu’...” grins the Canadian “What do you have on your plate today ?” 

“Ministers reunion” answers the President “And a couple of meetings with people of influence…”

“People of influence ?”

“CEOs, presidents of associations, volunteers in the State institutions etc… People worth listening to from time to time.” 

“I see. You’ll have a much more exciting day than me then.” 

“What’s on your agenda ?” 

“I had my medical check-up this morning, and I need to drop by the clinic for an effort test this afternoon. And then I need to find a way to apologize to my wife” 

“Flowers” whispers Emmanuel 

“What ?”

“Flowers” he repeats “I don’t know Sophie, but with Brigitte it works every single time.” 

“Good idea” replies Justin “Thanks Emmanuel. That will not solve the fight, but it’ll give me an advantage…” 

“Let me know how it works” smiles Emmanuel “I hope it’s going to be alright between you two.” 

Justin shrugs. Sophie is pissed, but that will pass. He did nothing wrong. he didn’t cheat on her, and he fought so much against his impulses. So much. 

“I have to go.” indicates the French “Have a good day !”

“You too, Emmanuel.” 

They smile at each other and end the call. Justin immediately turns on his laptop and buries himself into work. At two in the afternoon, he finally stops working and stretches his back. He managed to nearly obliviate both Emmanuel and Sophie for a while, and he feels much better. He grabs his jacket and phone and leaves his office, locking the door behind him. Bart is waiting for him at the door, and they start walking together towards the exit. 

“Bart, do you know if I have clean clothes in the car ?” 

“I think yes” nods the guard “What do you need ?” 

“A pair of shorts and a t-shirt. And sneakers.” 

“We can make a stop at your house if you don’t have that in the car.” 

“Thanks. I also need to get by a flower shop before coming home tonight...” 

“Any special requirement ?” enquires the guard 

“Not really” explains the PM “I need to apologize to my wife.” 

“She seemed pretty pissed indeed...” replies the man with an apologetic smile “I’ll arrange for us to make a stop.” 

“Thanks Bart !” 

Justin closes the button of his jacket and climbs in his car. His guard takes place on the front seat, next to the driver. Justin pulls out the sports bag from under his seat and checks he has sport clothes in it. 

“Do you have anything you need ?” asks the chauffeur 

“Yes” nods the Prime Minister 

“On we go then.” says the man 

Justin takes advantage of the ride to check and answer a couple of emails. Work doesn’t wait unfortunately. An incoming text from Emmanuel takes him by surprise. 

**_Roses and tulips. Red and white._ **

As always, his friend is really thoughtful, and always there for him. 

**_Thanks. I’ll call you in the evening :)_ **

He puts his phone in his pocket because they arrived. He grabs the bag and exits the car, putting the strap on his shoulder. Bart follows him at a reasonable distance. Justin enters the clinic and nods at the woman behind the welcome desk. 

“Sir” she says “I’ll let the doctor know you arrived.” 

“I need to change.” replies Justin “Can you tell me where the bathroom is ?”

“Down the corridor, second door on your left.” 

He thanks her and goes in the pointed direction. He comes back less than ten minutes later, wearing black shorts, an equally black t-shirt and a pair of running sneakers. There are two people in the waiting area, and both of them seem extremely surprise to see him here. Very aware of the effect he can have on people, he stops to shake hands with both, and smiles as he goes back to the desk. 

“He’ll be there in a minute.” indicates the woman 

“Thanks.” 

The doctor comes out of his office not long after, and Justin gives his sports bag back to his bodyguard before following him in his office. 

“Good to see you managed to find some time Justin” says the man “I am sorry about this morning by the way, I pushed a little hard on you and Sophie, but you got me worried...” 

“You were only doing your job.” replies the PM 

“You still don’t want to tell me why this sudden interest for STDs ?” 

Justin shakes his head. he is not ready to talk about it. To anyone. He isn’t even ready to talk to himself about it. 

“Simply… As a friend, not as your doctor, may I say something ?”

“Please do.” 

“Whatever you want to engage yourself in...” starts the man “Make sure he or she is clean. Or use protection.”

“I will” assures Justin with a smile “I swear.” 

If he ever does anything. Because for the moment it is all happening in his head. 

“Fine” says the man “So… Effort test now. I’ll have you run for half and hour on the treadmill, and then I’d like you to use the rowing machine for a while. Just to be sure. But first I’ll read your blood pressure and listen to your heart as I did this morning.” 

Justin sits on the examination chair, and offers his arm for the blood pressure measure. The doctor keeps talking as he does the examination. 

“If you agree, I’d really like to check for your breathing during this test, so we are thorough and sure we missed nothing.” 

“I don’t really have the choice, do I ?”

“Not really...” 

“Go for it then.” 

The doc doesn’t answer, focusing on the number he reads. He frowns and says : 

“Did you do anything in particular since this morning ?”

“No, why ?”

“You had eleven and a half this morning. You have thirteen dot three now...” 

“Oh…”

“No stress ? No anxiety ?”

“I had a fight with Sophie” sighs Justin “Sorry.” 

“Hmm. That could explain it. I need to put electrodes on your chest, can you remove your t-shirt ?”

Justin grabs the lower hem of his shirt and pulls it over his head. The doctor places the electrodes on his chest, and makes Justin follow him to the room in which the exam will take place. 

“Have you ever taken an effort test before ?”

“No.” says Justin 

“We’ll start slow, and I’ll increase the speed and steep of the treadmill gradually until you reach your limit…”

“Okay.”

“If it hurts, or if something unusual arises : dizziness, sudden fatigue, pain in the chest, you grab my arm and I’ll stop immediately.” 

The PM nods, slightly nervous about this. The doctor takes a transparent mask from a box, and places it on Justin’s face. He pulls the elastic band behind his head, and checks it is secure. 

“You breathe normally in that, and it’ll check the percentage of carbon dioxide in the air you expire.” 

Justin nods and the man connects the electrodes with the machine and starts the treadmill. He gradually increases the intensity, until Justin is completely short of breath, his heart racing at one hundred and eighty five beats per minute. The doc slows the machine, and when Justin is back at a normal walking speed he helps him remove the mask he had covering his face. 

“That’s better !” sighs the PM “Are you sure you still want me to row ?”

“Just to be sure.” nods the doc 

“I hate you.” jokes the Prime Minister “Can I at least have a glass of water ?”

“Yes” 

The doctor goes back into his office to grab a bottle of water and he hands it to Justin who steps down from the treadmill. He is sweating, his shorts sticking to his bum and thighs. 

“How long do you want me to exercise ?”

“I am waiting until your cardiac frequency drops to one hundred fifty, and then you’ll do another ten minutes. I want to check that your heart is able to compensate for two consecutive physical efforts.” 

“Wonderful” ironically answers the Canadian PM “Is it really necessary ?”

“Not mandatory, but I like to be thorough… And consider it a small revenge for not answering my questions.” 

The man laughs and Justin smiles. The doctor is a friend, thankfully for him, otherwise he would have not dared playing such a trick on him. 

“After the rowing-machine, I need to keep you in here until your heartbeat comes back to normal, do you get that ?”

“Can I have my phone in the meantime ?”

“Where is it ?”

“My bodyguard, Bart, has it.” 

“I’ll see if I can recover it then.” 

The doctor leaves for a minute and comes back with Justin’s phone. He puts it on his desk and comes back to Justin. The PM took place on the rowing machine, adjusting the seat position while the man was away. 

“Good” says the doctor “You are back to a reasonable rate, you can start now.” 

Justin exercises for a few more minutes, soliciting his heart much more than he ever did. The doctor has to stop him two minutes before the theoric end, in the fear of having Justin go into cardiac arrest. The PM slows down, and gets up as soon as he stops. The doctor lets him drink the rest of his water bottle, and gives him a towel to wipe his face and head. Justin keeps it around his shoulders and recovers his phone from the man’s desk. 

“Careful with your electrodes.” says the man “Please.” 

Justin nods and checks his phone. He needs to cool down. As soon as possible, so he can get out of here. 

“How long can it take ?” he asks 

“It depends. Between twenty minutes to an hour and a half.” 

“I don’t have that much time...” explains Justin 

“I can’t let you go with your heart beating that fast. If you go into cardiac arrest for God knows why reasons, I’d rather have you here than in the middle of the street…” 

“Do you mind me putting some music ? It usually helps.” 

“Please do” smiles the doctor 

Justin shuffles through the few musics on his phone and finally decides on some classical piano tune played by Emmanuel. The French President sent him the record a couple of days ago, and knowing that Emmanuel played and recorded it, just so he can share it with him is a really sweet gesture. Justin puts the phone on his knees and closes his eyes. He needs to relax, so he can go home quicker. 

“It’s beautiful.” says the doctor “What is it ?” 

“Chopin” answers Trudeau with a grin 

“I didn't know you were into classical music...” 

“I’m not really. But I am broadening my horizons.” 

After a minute, the doc calmly grabs Justin’s arm. 

“Justin. Justin !” 

The PM open his eyes and the doctor explains : 

“Your heartbeat keeps increasing. Were you thinking about something in particular ?”

Justin blushes. He was thinking about Emmanuel hands hitting the keys on the piano. And then somewhere else… In his hair… On his body… 

“Fuck.” whispers Justin turning the music off 

“You seem to have a lot on your plate Justin.” says the doctor “Just close your eyes and rest for a while. I will go and check on another patient, and hopefully when I come back you will be calm enough to go.” 

“Thanks” 

Justin is free to go half an hour later. He’ll take a shower at home. He gets the electrodes off of his chest and pulls his t-shirt on. Bart gives him his jacket back in the hall, and they rush to the car. It is already quite late, and if they want to stop at a flower shop, they really have to go. The chauffeur drops them both not far from the clinic so that Justin can buy flowers for Sophie. He smiles when he asks for tulips and roses, just like Emmanuel advised him. 

“Nice choice.” comments the florist “I bet your wife will love them, Sir.” 

She tries desperately not to stare at him, but it’s not everyday the Prime Minister of Canada is stopping at her little shop. Especially with messy hair, and completely sweaty. 

“That bouquet is beautiful.” he says handing her his credit card “And smells exquisite.” 

He pays and leaves, Bart keeping an eye on passer-bys who seem very surprised to see Justin here. The PM doesn’t stop to greet them, he is now eager to get home, sort things out with Sophie and take a long shower. He feels tired, and his thoughts are somehow blur and messy. It seems like he has something in his mind, that he can’t yet grasp entirely, but that his whole body seems to react to. But he needs to keep his focus on his family right now. The kids should be back from school now, and he will certainly find them sitting at the kitchen table, doing homeworks. He thanks Bart as he promptly leaves the car, his sport bag over his shoulder and the flowers in his hand. 

“I’m home !” he announces as soon as he enters 

“Daddyyyy !” screams Hadrien running to him 

The little boy wraps his arms around his father’s leg and hugs him tightly. Justin drops the sports bag, and bend over to pick him up. With his son in one arm, and the flowers in the other, he goes into the kitchen. His two eldest are doing their homeworks, supervised by their mother. Sophie doesn’t even look at him when he passes the door. Justin puts Hadrien on a chair, kisses Ella-grace and Xavier on the top of the head, and joins Sophie by the kitchen counter. 

“I brought you flowers.” he says with a grin “And I apologize for earlier, honey...” he whispers 

“We’ve got some talking to do.” she replies “The flowers are beautiful, thanks Justin.” 

She smiles faintly and Justin knows it’s the best he can get for now. He puts the bouquet on the counter and turns to watch his kids. 

“Have you been doing sports ?” asks Xavier tilting his head on the side and looking at his father 

“It was a medical examination, but yes I’ve been running for a while…” 

“Are you sick ?” asks Ella-Grace in response 

“No I am not.” smiles her father, grabbing a chair to sit in front of them “It was made to check everything was working properly in my body…” 

“Is it ?” asks Xavier 

“Definitely.” nods the PM “You have nothing to worry about, I am very very healthy.” 

“Good” nods the little girl “But you should take a shower Dad, you stink !” 

Xavier and Hadrien both nod and Justin sighs. 

“Very nice. Thanks kids… I’m going to shower !” 

Sophie tells the kids to keep working, and to Hadrien to keep playing, and she follows her husband upstairs. 

“I guess you still don’t want to talk about your secrets ?” she says leaning against the doorframe of their bedroom while Justin searches for clean clothes in their wardrobe 

“I am not hiding anything from you Sophie. I asked to be tested for STDs because I believe it is better to be safe than sorry. I didn’t cheat on you, honey. I swear…” 

“And yet I can’t help but think you have someone else in your mind…” she replies crossing her arms on her chest, resisting the urge to forgive him and jump to his neck 

“I don’t” says Justin not looking at her 

It is not true. But it is what she needs to hear. And anyway, this other person he has in mind is no future for him. He knows that, and will do his best to forget about him. Friends. They can be good friends. Nothing else. 

“There is only you, it has always been you.” he adds passing by her on his way to the bathroom “You have to trust me.” 

“I love you Justin. But if you are hiding something from me, I will not forgive you for it.” 

The PM sighs. His wife is stubborn, and she will need time to process their fight. He is about to close the bathroom door but he changes his mind, opens it, and rushes to his wife. He takes her face into his hands and kisses her with force and passion. She is surprised at first, but she surrenders to the love he is giving her, and she even wraps her arms around his neck. 

“I love you...” whispers Justin “I love you so much Sophie.”

“I love you too Justin.” she smiles in return “Now go shower, you really need it !”

They laugh, exchange a quick kiss, and she goes back to their kids while he takes his shower. When out, clean and fresh, he grabs his phone and sends a quick text to his best friend, as promised : 

**_Flowers were a good idea. Thanks for the help. I’ll call you tomorrow._ **

The answer pops up on his screen in seconds and makes him smile. 

**_Glad I could help. Have a nice evening Justin :)_ **

Justin puts his phone back in his jeans pocket and joins his family in the kitchen. Sophie is smiling, which is a progress considering her earlier mood. Justin grabs his youngest son by the waist and lifts him in his arms, listening to the story the kid is telling him. The two eldest have vanished, their homeworks done. Justin looks for them and finds them both in front of cartoons on the TV. 

“What’s that one called again ?” he asks sitting next to them

“Captain Flamingo !” answers Ella-Grace with a grin “We told you yesterday Dad !” 

“Sorry darling, I am getting old.” jokes Justin

She laughs and he kisses her on the top of her head. She is his treasure, and they have a unique bond, very special and different from the one he has with her brothers. And he feels delighted about that. 

“How was school today ?” asks the PM 

“Good.” she answers platonically 

“Really cool !” adds her brother “We made a volcano in science today !” 

“A volcano ?” frowns Justin 

“Yep. Lava, explosion and all… Wicked !” 

Justin flinches. Xavier is talking more and more like a teenager, and it frightens him to see him grow up so fast. Time flies, and Justin remembers with nostalgia the day he held Xavier in his arms for the first time, when he was only a tiny little baby. His first son, their first born, their little miracle… To dismiss this nostalgia, Justin ruffles through his son’s hair, making the boy complain about it. 

“Come on Dad ! You know I hate that.” 

“I know.” laughs Justin “And you need a haircut, son.” 

“Mom says she likes my curls !” replies the boy 

“It makes you look a lot like me...” admits Justin “But a haircut would do you good, believe me.” 

The boy shrugs and Sophie calls them for dinner from the kitchen. 

“Go wash your hands.” says Justin to Hadrien and Ella-Grace “And go see if your Mom needs help !” 

Xavier turns off the TV and goes after his siblings, to also wash his hands and go have dinner. Eating together in the evening was a tradition the whole family was very attached to, and it was a time for both parents to connect with their kids. 

“Tell me more about the volcano.” asks Justin to Xavier “How did you made the lava ?”

“Chemical reaction...” answers the boy proudly handing his plate to his mother for her to serve him “We used vinegar, baking soda and food colouring.” 

“So cool !” nods Ella-Grace next to him 

“Really nice.” smiles Sophie “But don’t reproduce it in that kitchen young man, or I’ll make you clean it all !” 

“Yes, Mom...” sighs Xavier 

“Why can’t he do that ?” innocently asks Hadrien 

“Because it makes a mess, even though it is fun.” answers Justin “And your brother certainly doesn’t want to clean the whole kitchen !” 

He chuckles and they keep chatting while eating. Justin and Sophie are a little less close than usual, but given the awful fight they had earlier, it is understandable. They will have more talking to do once the kids are in bed. 

“Dad, can you tell us a story before we go to bed ?” asks Ella-Grace finishing her yoghurt 

“Of course, my little princess !” he smiles 

Despite being eight, Ella-Grace was fond of fairytales told by her father before bed. And Justin was complying good with this tradition every single time he was home in the evening. 

“I want you to put your pajama, and brush your teeth before your father joins you upstairs” warns Sophie “Please.” 

“Yes Mom !” exclaim the three kids in unisson 

“Come with me Didi” says Justin using the nickname for their youngest son “I’ll help.” 

He goes upstairs with him, helping the two-and-a-half-year-old put on his pajama. 

“How was daycare today ?” questions the concerned father 

“Okay” shrugs the little boy 

“Hadrien...” replies Justin “You know you can tell me, I won’t be mad at you…” 

“I didn’t fight with anyone.” says the boy “But I don’t have friends anymore…” 

“You will get new ones, honey.” says Justin taking the boy in his arms “I can assure you you will.” 

“But no one wants to talk to me anymore !” 

“It’ll pass. You are a very nice and funny little boy, and you will make new friends, that is for sure.” 

Justin hugs his son. Sophie and him decided to try socialize him during the day, putting him into daycare, but it appeared to be harder than expected for the little boy. He had a lot of trouble adjusting to this new way of spending his day, and he got into some fights with the other kids… Of course Justin and his wife were concerned, and they talked through it with Hadrien, trying to make him understand he should not do that, but hearing him complain of not having friends breaks Justin’s heart. But they are kids, and it will pass. Or at least he hopes. 

“Come brush your teeth, and then we’ll go for a story.” says the PM to his son 

In the bathroom, Hadrien stands on a stool to brush his teeth, and Justin hears Ella-Grace and Xavier arguing about the bedtime story they want to hear in the girl’s room. 

“I don’t want one of your princesses stories !” says the eldest “We ALWAYS have princesses ! What about adventure ?”

“Gross” replies his sister “Your books are so not fun !” 

“Enough” says Justin entering into the room with Hadrien in his arms “What about… a pirates’ story ?” 

“YEAAAH !” exclaims Xavier 

“YEEES !” adds Ella-Grace 

“Cool !” nods Hadrien 

“Great. Pirates it is then.” says Justin picking a book on the shelf 

The three kids climb onto the bed, and Justin sits in the middle of them, Ella on his right-side, Xavier on his left-side, Hadrien on his knees. He reads through the whole book about a pirate sailing through the world in a quest to find the perfect sidekick and who ends up adopting a red parrot instead. The children love that story, it has been one of their favorites since their early childhood, and Justin never misses a chance to read it to them. Hadrien fell asleep long before the book was over, and Justin delicately picks him up into his arms once he’s done. 

“I am going to put your brother to bed, and I’ll come back to kiss you good night.” 

He puts Hadrien to bed, tucking him in, and leaving the door slightly open in case he wakes up in the dark. He goes back to Ella-Grace’s room, and share a long hug with her, before kissing her on the forehead and tucking her in. He finishes with Xavier, with the same ritual. Once all three are in bed, he goes back down and finds Sophie reading a book in the living-room. 

“Are they sleeping ?”

“Soon” says Justin sitting next to her “Once again, I want to say I am sorry for the misunderstanding we had today.”

“It’s fine...” she shrugs “I overreacted a bit.” 

Justin falls silent for a while. Yes she overreacted. But in the end she was right about it. 

“What do you have on your planning tomorrow ?” she asks putting her book aside 

“The meetings I had to rescheduled today.” answers her husband “Unless something more urgent arises.” 

“Can you bring the kids to school ?”

“Of course. I’d be happy to…” 

They smile at each other and Sophie leans on his shoulder. He puts an arm around her and pulls her closer. 

“What is on your schedule for tomorrow ?” he asks 

“I am meeting with a media organization, and visiting a new exhibition in the afternoon.” 

“Nice. What exhibition ?” 

“Contemporary art” she says “Not your type of thing…”

“Come on, say I’m not a culture guy !” 

“No you are not.” she teases him “But I don’t mind. You know about a lot of things, but your interest lies elsewhere…” 

“True...” admits the PM 

“I’m going to shower, and then to bed, join me ?” 

“Later. I need some time alone with my thoughts if you don’t mind.” 

“I don’t.” she replies 

He kisses her and lets her go upstairs. He opens the cabinet and pours himself a glass of scotch. He needs a drink. He loves his wife, but despite his best efforts, he has not managed to completely keep Emmanuel from his thoughts. And it’s bothering him. He sips his drink and fueled with nostalgia he looks for his old yearbooks on the bookshelf. He carefully looks for the one from his senior year and withdraws it from the shelf. His glass still in hand, he opens the book with the other and finds the page he was looking for. The individual pictures. He is there, age 17, smiling broadly in the central picture. His yearbook quote makes him chuckle hard. He chose one quote from his father, that seems oddly appropriate given his current thoughts : “There's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation”, a famous quote about homosexuality in Canada. Memories are flowing in his mind and he quickly turns the pages to find another picture. His fingers wander on the face of his then best friend. The first, and only man he ever loved until now. But when you are the son of the Prime Minister, you don’t get to choose who you love, and who you date. Of course he never made a move towards his friend, but from time to time, a little surge of nostalgia makes him wonder what he would have become if he did. But how would have his father reacted ? That is a question he doesn’t want to ask himself. Justin feels a silent tear roll down his cheeks and he slams the book close. The past is in the past. He swiftly wipes away that tear and and finishes his drink bottoms up. This is the past, and he should not dwell on that past for too long. He keeps looking through the yearbooks, from earlier years, blushing at the very shameful haircuts he once had. 

“Coming to bed ?” says Sophie who has been watching him for a couple of minutes in silence 

He closes the book and turns to her. She let her hair down, and is only wearing a very, very short silky night dress. His lower-stomach immediately reacts and he puts the glass on the bookshelf to join her. He grabs her by the waist and pushes her against the wall, his mouth devouring hers. One of his hands finds its way in the middle of her back, the other one grabs her bum. 

“Wait.” she says putting her hand on his “What about the kids ?”

“They are asleep, and I can… close the door.” 

He pushes the door shut and keeps kissing her, his lips now in her neck. Both her hands are in his hair, pulling on the curls she likes so much. 

“Oh Justin !” she sighs when his hands grab the hem of her dress and pull it over her head

She is only wearing her briefs underneath, and Justin keeps kissing her, going lower and lower, until he reaches her breasts. He wants to reassure himself. He wants to prove to himself that he is now hundred percent straight, and that his bisexual inclinations were a thing of the past. And given the size of his erection in his pants, it seem to be just the case. 

“Hmmm” moans Sophie when her husband’s lips find her right nipple “Keep doing that Justin !” 

“Shhh” he warns putting a finger on her mouth “Don’t wake the kids !” 

“Fine” she sighs “Just… Keep going !” 

“Shut up now...” he groans kissing her on the mouth to keep her quiet 

One of her hand finds its way to Justin’s crotch, and she appreciates her husband’s cock through the fabric. 

“Are you wearing anything under your jeans ?” she asks with a frown 

“Find out by yourself...” he replies with a grin 

She can’t stop looking at him, and she struggles to open the fly of his jeans. He helps her and she grabs his hard penis, noticing he is indeed not wearing anything under his jeans. Both his hands are now on her butt, grasping the flesh through the fabric. 

“Hmmm” he moans as she strokes his cock with both her hands “You know how much I love that Soph’ !” 

She smiles and keeps doing it. Her husband is usually pretty vocal when they have sex, but he is repressing his instincts to not wake their kids sleeping upstairs. He lowers Sophie’s knickers and passes his fingers between her thighs. She is soaking wet, and he will not struggle at all to penetrate her. She steps out of her panties, and he holds her tighter against the wall, she wraps her legs around his waist, and their intimacies are now brushing against each other. 

“Fuck” swears Justin “I am not going to last long” 

“What’s going on through your head, honey ?” she manages to ask “Why the sudden urge to… ?”

He shuts her up by kissing her, and in the same move he enters into her, both of them moaning from the sweet contact. Justin thrusts his pelvis forward, penetrating her even deeper. Her nails scratch his back, in a possessive gesture, and he begins going back-and-forth into her, moaning in her ear as he goes. 

“Yes Justin !” she encourages him “Keep doing that !” 

“Oh God Sophie, it feels so good” he whispers “So good !” 

He feels overwhelmed by pleasure and knows he won’t last long. But he doesn’t care. he wants to fuck her to oblivion. He simply wants to reconnect with her, and forget about everything else. Everything. And everyone. 

“Oh Justin !” exclaims Sophie “I am going to come !” 

She buries her head in his neck and kisses him as she orgasms, muffling the sound of her scream in his skin. She traps his hips tighter between her legs, and he reaches nirvana seconds later, ejaculating in her, his whole body tensed, his head tilted backwards, his mouth opened on an ecstatic moan. 

“Aaaah” he lets escape as he carefully withdraws, holding her at the waist so she can rest her feet on the floor “That was amazing. Thanks…” 

“I like your sudden wild side” she comments with a grin “Now come to bed with me”

“Of course honey” 

They keep kissing on their way up the stairs, unable to refrain from touching each other, like enamored teenagers. But they are exhausted enough to not embark on a second round of sex, promising themselves to do it the next day. 

“I love you” she whispers to him as she cuddles with him on their bed 

“I love you too Sophie. More than anything else in the world… You keep me anchored to a simple and refreshing life” 

“You seem to have a lot on your mind honey, are you sure you don’t want to talk about it ?”

“Fairly certain. We both need to sleep…” 

He kisses her tenderly and keeps her into his arms until she falls asleep. He feels good. Very good to be with the woman he loves, and who loves him back. And yet, sleep does not want to come and get him. His mind keeps obsessing about something he’d rather forget, and he sighs at the half-boner he is already having from these indecent thoughts. Why ? Why is this happening to him ? Will he ever be able to control his thoughts ? Why does his past come back to haunt him like that ? He is straight, he has always been. This crush on his best friend was no more than curiosity, and the desire to finally be in a couple. It never happened, and will never happen. Justin is married, a father to three amazing kids, and he can’t betray his family. They trust him… 


	4. September 20th 2017 - New York, USA - Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.  
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 4 : Your Song (Elton John)

A round of applause salutes Emmanuel Macron’s end of speech and he gathers his notes to leave the scene to go back to his seat. His first ever speech at the United Nations general assembly. He is really proud of having had that chance, and he hopes he did good. He had left his phone in the good hands of his foreign affairs Minister who hands it back to him as soon as he sits down. 

“You got messages” he whispers “It keeps buzzing since you finished” 

“Sorry” answers the French President knowing exactly who it is coming from

Justin is seated a few rows before him, and they exchanged a smile as he was coming back to his seat. It makes no doubt that the texts are coming from him. Four different messages in his inbox. 

**_Well done for your first time :)_ **

**_We need to discuss that speech later today. Can we arrange a meeting ?_ **

**_I’d also like to speak with you in private_ **

**_Oh and your tie is incorrectly positioned, Vlad noticed_ **

Ah, the dear Russian President… Emmanuel glances at the blond man who completely ignores him, reading a couple of pages in front of him. Emmanuel adjusts his tie and answers his best friend. 

**_Thanks Justin. What about a private meeting now ? And later today we can schedule for our teams to meet and discuss my speech. Over dinner if you’d like._ **

In the wait of an answer, Emmanuel focuses on the next speech that is given by one of his African counterpart. Thankfully it is in French, and he does not need translation, which allows him to not keep his whole brain focused. The French delegates are busy taking notes, as always, and he knows he won’t at least have to do this on his own. Not that he dislikes it, but his mind, in international meetings, has a tendency to wander off to a forbidden land, and he doesn’t really manages to focus. 

**_There is a break scheduled after that speech. Let’s meet in room 313, it should be free at this time of day_ **

His heart skips a beat when Justin’s text arrives on his phone and he simply text his approval in response. He then puts his mobile down, trying to keep his mind from racing through indecent, and highly inappropriate thoughts about his friends. Justin has become, in a couple of months, a really good friend, and Emmanuel is glad they are speaking on a regular basis. This secure video line he had installed between their mobiles allows them to speak, and see each other at least a couple of minutes each and everyday. They often chat for only a couple of minutes, but it is enough for them. Of course, they had been exchanging on more difficult matters from time to time, but they tried to not let work consume their relationship. 

**_Well done on your speech, honey. You rocked it as always. I love you - Brigitte_ **

His wife helped him write the speech and he thank her with a quick text, full of love. She is her anchor in this crazy world, and a precious aid in his everyday life. He would have gladly brought her along to New-York but she had prior engagements with a couple of foundations she is working with, so she had to stay in Paris. Which means she stayed up through the night to watch him live. A true proof of love. Emmanuel sighs when he realizes he has been looking intensely at the back of Justin’s head for at least five solid minutes. Too much indeed. Hopefully the Canadian did not turn around, or he would have caught him staring.  
Justin is fighting with his instincts. He wants to turn his head and look at Emmanuel, but he already spent the whole half hour of the French’s speech daydreaming. That is already too much. He thought he had managed to keep those silly ideas in the back of his mind, but as soon as he laid eyes upon Emmanuel this morning, he knew his best efforts were ruined. He is falling for him, and there is nothing he can do to control it. Except forcing himself to sit straight on his chair, and focus his attention on something else. Do not look back at him. Do not look back at him. Justin keeps repeating those words in his head again and again. This private meeting they arranged will be an agony for him, but he will try to stay civilized and talk with Emmanuel as the best friends they grew to become. Because no one, not even the French President can know about how Justin is really feeling. 

“Justin ! Justin !” whispers the Minister on his right “Weren’t you supposed to take notes ?!” 

The PM sighs and blinks at the blank sheet of paper in front of him. Fuck. He really had planned on taking notes during most of the speeches, but he failed miserably. During Emmanuel’s speech, he couldn’t take his eyes off of the man, and he only scribbled down a couple of words, that make absolutely no sense now. 

“You are in luck one of us is taking this seriously” grins the Minister “I took notes. Go out during the break, and grab some fresh air, you look like you’ve seen a ghost…” 

Justin shakes his head and passes a hand through his hair. He doesn’t need fresh air. He needs his current oxygen supply : Emmanuel. Fuck that ! He hates himself for having such cheesy thoughts, and he hopes he will manage to keep composure in front of his friend. The African president concludes his speech and the whole assembly politely applause. 

“Twenty minutes break everyone” announces the president of the assembly “Please be back at your seats on time” 

He has barely finished talking that half of the people in presence are already out of their seats. They listened to six speeches since the morning, and most of them are eager to grab a coffee, hit the restroom or both. Justin cracks his neck, and exits the room. 

Emmanuel saw Justin rushing out of the assembly room, and he tries to catch up with him on the way out, but he keeps bumping into people he knows and has to politely shake hands with them before apologizing because he needs to go out. He left his jacket at his seat, and only took his phone on the way out. He downloaded yesterday a map of the building, provided by the United Nations for newcomers, and he guides himself through the corridors to room 313, two security officers following him a couple of steps behind. Justin is already waiting for him inside, his hands in his back, his face to the wall, looking at an illustration framed there. Emmanuel Macron comes in, instructing his officers to wait at the door. 

“Sorry” apologizes the French President “I know half of the attendees and it looks like they were all waiting for me”

“You are the star of the morning you know” smiles Justin as he turns to him 

Justin opens his arms and takes his friends for a friendly hug, as a warm greeting. They only nodded at each other in the morning, the Canadian PM arriving just on time as usual because he insisted on going for a run before the meeting. 

“Your speech truly was amazing” says Justin closing the door behind Emmanuel as he lets go of him “Did you write it by yourself ?”

“Brigitte helped” admits the President “I’m sure yours will be as good” 

“I don’t have your talent” 

There is a moment of silence in which they both look at each other, realizing the inevitable : they desperately want to taste the lips of the man in front of them. But it is impossible. Absolutely unthinkable. Emmanuel clears his throat and nods at the picture framed on the wall. 

“What is it ?” he asks 

“Founding members of the United Nations” replies the Canadian “I think I have seen dozens of that particular illustration in this building…” 

They smile at each other and Emmanuel steps closer to have a look at it. He himself, though only arrived yesterday, has seen at least three illustrations like that one in the building. 

“When are you leaving ?” asks Justin 

“In a week. I wouldn’t miss all the speeches for all the gold in the world…” 

And especially not yours Justin, he thinks. The Canadian is scheduled to speak on the last day of the international assembly, and Emmanuel owes his friend to be there. And that will give him a good reason to stare, and admire, and fantasize at the handsome Canadian. The unspoken words between them are louder than the spoken ones, and the atmosphere is a little heavy. Both of them are holding back, trying to resist temptation. And the damnation that will surely ensues. 

“Do you think we could go for a walk or dinner as friends during your stay ?” finally asks the French president 

“Of course !” answers Justin too quickly and too eagerly “I mean. I have to see if it fits in my calendar, but for sure” 

“Did you come alone here ?”

“If by alone you mean without my wife then yes, Sophie is home with the kids, they just got back to school last week, and we didn’t want them to be alone with a nanny so soon in the school year…”

“Understandable” nods Emmanuel “Brigitte is stuck in Paris for some charity work, so I guess we are both in this hellish city as bachelors…” 

Of course it is a joke, and it makes them both laugh. 

“Do you really see New-York like that ?” frowns the Canadian nonetheless “I think it is a beautiful city…”

“But you are a neighbour here, Justin” replies Macron with a grin “Everything here is bigger and louder, and it took me a whole hour to come here this morning” 

“I went for a run in Central Park” says Justin “You should try, it really helps” 

“Maybe tomorrow” answers the French President “Did you get in trouble from running there ?” 

“I waved at some nice ladies looking at me, I shook a few hands, and that is all. The world isn’t the scary place you seem to believe it is Emmanuel…” 

The French does not like being taken like a fool by his best friend. North-America is much safer for him than Europe, and anyway he came with a security team that even Justin wouldn’t dare approach. They are built like gorillas and would jump in front of a bear if needed to save their boss. Emmanuel lifts up his gaze, and his blue eyes meet the blue ones of Justin. A spark of craziness pops up in his mind, and he feels like he should make a move. But what if he gets rejected ? What if it ruins this fragile and new friendship blossoming between them. Emmanuel nervously plays with the tip of his tie, unable to look at Justin any longer. The Canadian steps closer and places one of his fingers underneath Emmanuel’s chin. 

“What’s on your mind ?” he asks forcing Emmanuel to look up 

“Silly, silly ideas…” 

“Maybe you should get them out of your mind then…” 

Justin smiles at him, and Emmanuel desperately wants to close the distance between them. But this is the craziest thing he ever did… And it will change everything. Forever. Justin shakes his head and removes his finger from Emmanuel’s chin. That moment between them passed. And neither of them dared to make a move. The Canadian shoves his hands in his pockets, and turns around. He can’t help but thinking about how much he’d like to kiss Emmanuel, but there is no way his best friend would let him do that. 

“How did you know Vladimir noticed about my tie ?”

“I’d recognize his laugh anywhere” admits the Canadian PM “And I caught him making fun of you with his team…” 

“Very nice… It wasn’t that bad, was it ?”

“Slightly not adjusted at the neck” brushes off Justin “A mistake we’d all do under stress” 

“You are not wearing any tie” correctly points out Emmanuel 

“I removed it after your speech” explains the Canadian “It was a bit stifling in there” 

Justin adds a wink at the end of his sentence and Emmanuel looks at him with bewilderment. Was that a hint ? Or is he interpreting wrong ? Why does Justin trigger all his bisexual instincts ? It was a secret he thought preserved, and buried, but Justin made it all come up again. And now he doesn’t know what to do with his feelings. Because he really feels more than friendship for Justin. And it clouds his judgement. Emmanuel looks at Justin, and he replaces one of the man’s strand of hair behind his ear. 

“Sorry” he softly says “That was bothering me”

“Never apologizes” chuckles Justin placing his hand over Emmanuel’s 

The two men are closer than ever, looking in the eyes of each other. And they realize at this instant they both need to be sure… They need to be sure if what they are feeling is unrequited… or not… Moved by his instinct, Emmanuel closes the distance and presses his lips against Justin’s mouth, softly, chastly at first. But the Canadian, who had been dreaming about this moment for a long time now, grabs his face and intensifies the kiss, pushing his partner all the way up to the door against which he pins him. As soon as their lips touched they both knew : they both knew they were damned for each other… And that nothing will ever be the same. Nothing. 

They keep kissing until short of breath, and Justin reluctantly breaks their embrace so that Emmanuel can breathe. They can’t look at each other, they are too embarrassed for that. 

“Damn” whispers Justin whose forehead is against Emmanuel’s one “I wanted to do that for so long” 

“Same” admits Macron “Same” 

They both jump in surprise when loud knocks can be heard on the door. 

“TIME TO GO SIR !” 

Justin frowns and Emmanuel nods, escaping Justin’s arms. 

“That was one of mine. And we are late…” 

“Wait…” tries Justin but Emmanuel already vanished, leaving him startled, confused and terribly dissatisfied 

“Sir ?” asks his security officer “Should we go back ?” 

He can not have missed the furtive escape of the French president, and Justin wonders what the man might be thinking. What happened to them ? Why did they do that ? On the whole way back to the assembly room, Justin feels more confused than ever, and he blushes when he enters the room and all eyes focus on him. He is late. He hurries up his seat and his Minister frowns at him. 

“You look even more terrible than before. Well done Justin…” 

That was intended as a joke, but Justin does not laugh. He didn’t even heard what was said to him. Emmanuel, a few rows behind, is completely lost. Did this really happen ? Did they kiss like he believes they did ? Or was that a dream ? A fantasy ? He brings his fingertips to his lips, and touch them. He recalls the warmth and softness of Justin’s lips and knows it was not a dream. It really happened. But what does it mean ? Justin turns discreetly to look at him and both of them blush hard. They need to talk. They really have to talk things through. Emmanuel grabs his mobile and sends the first text. 

**_Should we talk about it ?_ **

He nervously awaits the answer, trying to focus on the belize President talking on the stage, but he keeps tapping on his desk with his fingers, pissing off his Foreign Affairs Minister. 

“What is wrong with you ?!” reacts the man “Stop that… Please” 

“Sorry” apologizes Emmanuel, crossing his arms on his chest to refrain himself from fidgeting “How much more speeches should we listen to before lunch ?”

“Four” answers the man next to him 

“Lord help us” whispers Emmanuel to himself

He jumps on his phone as soon as the screen lights up, an indication he received a text. 

**_Only if you want to. But if you want us both to forget this and pretend it never happened, it also works for me._ **

Emmanuel chuckles. Why would he want that ? Justin haunted his dreams and thoughts for months, and it all finally came clear today. They both have feelings for each other. 

**_Why ? Why did you kiss me ?_ **

Thankfully their messages are encrypted, and no one is reading over his shoulder. Justin frowns at the text he just received and turns to Emmanuel. How dare he ? He is the one who made the first move ! 

**_First of all you kissed me. Not the other way around. Secondly, we both wanted it very much, if I remember what you said…_ **

The answer arrives in seconds. 

**_But you are straight !_ **

It makes Justin laugh, and he struggles to type his answer discreetly.

**_I have not always been… What about you ?_ **

Emmanuel smiles and thinks about his answer for a few minutes. Should he straight up say to Justin that he is bi and fantasizing about him ? Probably not… 

**_I have never been :)_ **

They both applause the president who just finished his speech, and while the room gets agitated and the next head of state gets on the stage, Emmanuel and Justin can’t help but look at each other. There are so many things they need to discuss. So many explanations that are needed. But for now, all that matters is that they were both wanting very much to kiss the other. And they both liked it. Emmanuel unconsciously bites his lower lip, and Justin answers with the same thing. They want to do it again. As soon as possible. But they can’t behave like teenagers and ignore the consequences. Both of them are married, and there can not be any sort of relationship between them… How would that work anyway ? 

**_What about your wife ?_ **

Emmanuel knows he will probably ruin the day for them both, but he needs to know how they are both positioning on these new grounds. 

**_Sophie is, and always will be my own problem, Emmanuel. What about yours ?_ **

The French President thinks : what would Brigitte think if she knew he kissed another man ? Of course she knows he is bisexual, that has always been very clear between them, since the early stages of their relationship, but is kissing cheating ? 

**_I think I can manage with some lies for now_ **

Justin smiles. He could also manage with some lies. But they need to talk. He wants to know if that was just a kiss, to break the homoerotic tension building between them, or if that meant more to them. 

**_Lunch with me ? Just the two of us ? Same place ?_ **

Emmanuel doesn’t even have to answer because Justin is looking at him, waiting for him to respond. He nods and smile and Justin smiles in return. That’s a deal. Both of them focus on the speeches, relieved to know they will get the chance to talk things through. Before the last speech, each head of state gets the chance to order some lunch, and get it delivered in whatever room they want to. It was common practice at the United Nations to allow the delegations to work over lunch, hence the empty rooms. Emmanuel chooses a plate of ham and cheese, and Justin decides himself on pasta salad. They spend the last speech thinking about all the things they want to say to each other, and as soon as the assembly is dismissed for lunch time, both of them vanish, before their delegations could get a word with them. They are acting reckless, but their security teams are trailing them, and they end up catching up with each other in the corridor leading to the room. Both try to hide their excitement and confusion, especially as they have four gorillas just behind them. 

“Do not let anyone in” says Macron to his guards, walking backwards to be facing them “Please” 

“Sure thing Sir” nods the leader of the pack “Anything else you need ?”

“Make sure we go back there on time” adds Justin with a grin 

“Yes” says Emmanuel “Make sure we are back on time” 

They nod and the two head of states go inside the room. Their lunch is waiting for them, along with a bottle of water, a can of soda, and warm coffee in a thermos cup. They smile and close the door behind them. Emmanuel does not even has time to turn the lock, that Justin is already on him, a hand on his cheek, the other one on his waist, his lips dangerously close to his own. 

“May I ?” he asks realizing his attitude might be a bit too forward 

Emmanuel does not answer, but he puts his arms around his partner’s neck and closes the distance between their mouths. When their lips touch, it feels like a firework is exploding inside of them, and the world could crumble around them at this precise moment, none of them would notice. A soft moan escapes Justin’s lips and Emmanuel uses all the strength and will he has in him to break their kiss. Talking. They need to do some talking. They can’t spend their whole lunch break kissing, no matter how delightful it is. 

“Stop” he says “Justin. Please stop. For now…” 

Reluctantly, Justin lets go of his best friend, and they both grab a chair to eat their lunch. They are seated in front of each other, and the table is just big enough for their hands to be touching in the center, when they are not eating. 

“How long have you wanted this to happen ?” starts the French president 

“Since that time we met in Italy…”

“I really did believe you were straight” 

“I am. Sort of…” 

Emmanuel raises an eyebrow but Justin takes all his time, staring at the cherry tomato on his fork for an eternity before he speaks : 

“What I am about to tell you, not even Sophie knows about…” 

“Then you should probably not tell me” 

“You need to hear that” argues the Canadian “Please, listen… When I was in high-school, I was more or less bisexual, or bicurious as you call it nowadays. Trying things with boys and girls, sometimes both…” 

Emmanuel can’t help but grin, and Justin has to admit it was a really wild time. 

“You know how it goes Emmanuel, but yes, it was wild. I had a best friend at the time, Julian. I was crazy in love with him, but never dared to make a move towards him, too afraid of being judged. Sex was one thing, feelings was a completely different one. And my father being the Prime Minister, I could not really engage into something… experimental…” 

“I see” nods the French President 

He took Justin’s hand on the table to give him some courage, and the Canadian intertwined their fingers, looking for comfort in this tenuous contact. 

“Are you going to eat that tomato ?” asks Macron “Or keep staring at it for the next ten minutes ?”

“You want it ?”

Justin approaches his fork and Emmanuel parts his lips to eat that cherry tomato. This makes them laugh. It is really an intimate thing to do that. 

“I am bisexual” confesses the French “I have always been, and I have always known. Brigitte knows, and some of my closest friends as well. But I had the chance of meeting an amazing woman in my young years, and I didn’t get the chance to… experiment” 

That choice of words makes them both smile. 

“How long have you thought about me as more than a friend ?” asks Trudeau

“Since the day we met. Your eyes bewitched me, and I was hook at the moment you shook my hand…” 

“Love at first sight, then ?”

“Something like that” laughs the French 

“Why didn’t you act on it before ?”

“We are both married. You have children. And I was positive about you being hundred percent straight. I believed that being your friend, one of your best friends would be enough for me…” 

“Let me guess, it isn’t anymore ?” 

“No. Is it for you ?”

“No” 

They pause for awhile, finish their lunch, and look at each other. 

“What are we going to do now ?” asks the Canadian PM with concern “It’s not like we can forget what happened…” 

“I don’t want to…” 

“Do you realize we are both cheating on our wives ?”

“I do. But at the moment, all I want is to kiss you again” 

“Come here then…” 

Emmanuel stands up and walks around the table to join Justin on his side. The North-American takes his hands in his and pulls him closer and closer, helping him to sit down on his lap, his legs on each side of the Canadian. Justin wraps his arms around his partner’s waist, and leans forward, his forehead against Emmanuel’s. 

“I could spend my whole week kissing you, Manu” 

“Same here. But for now let’s enjoy the… (he glances at his watch) twenty minutes we have left…” 

“I couldn’t agree more” 

And they kiss. Again and again. Until their bodies plead for air, and they have no other choice but to stop for a few seconds, to breathe. The touch of their lips, on each other, makes them lose all sense of reason but it makes them feel alive. More alive than ever. And younger than ever. They are interrupted by Emmanuel’s phone, buzzing in his trousers pocket. 

“Sorry” he apologizes pulling it out to see who is calling “I have to take this” he adds “Sorry.” 

Emmanuel wants to go, but Justin holds him too tightly, so he can not move. The French president shakes his head but answer his phone anyway. 

“Hello, honey” he says with a smile “How are you ? Already up ?”

“I didn’t get much sleep you know…” replies Brigitte “I watched your speech, you were absolutely incredible” 

“Thanks. I couldn’t have done it without you” 

Justin, drunk with emotions has suddenly gone back to his seventeen-year-old self and decides on disturbing his partner, while he is speaking to his wife. He lets his hands wander in Emmanuel’s back, and the French frowns at him. Then he strokes the top of Emmanuel’s head, playing with the hair. With his free hand, Emmanuel catches Justin’s one midway and he frowns hard at him. 

“Don’t” he silently mutters shaking his head “Please don’t.” 

But Justin is in no mood to leave him alone and his next try is to kiss Emmanuel in the neck. This time, the French President can’t resist, and he tilts his head on the side, allowing his partner a better access. But he warns him with a look : no noise, or this will be all over. Justin is delighted and he keeps planting soft kisses in the neck of Emmanuel, going all the way up to his ear, and down to the collar of his shirt. It is sweet torture for Emmanuel but he manages to multitask pretty efficiently. He hangs up a couple of minutes later, and through his lips escapes a guttural moan that sends a shiver of excitation down Justin’s spine. 

“You do realize this is awfully wrong ?” asks Justin before kissing him on the lips “And that we are going to be in so much trouble for it ?”

“I don’t give a damn” replies Macron with a grin “All I want is your lips on mine…” 

Three knocks on the door are followed by : 

“Sir ? We should get going in five minutes” 

The two men look at each other, and Justin answers : 

“We’ll be out in five minutes. Thanks” 

They kiss again, their lips now belonging to each other. 

“So, what do we do now ?” whispers Justin 

“We pretend to be the best friends possible” says Emmanuel “But we sneak out to kiss whenever we can, deal ?” 

“Deal ! What if we need more ?”

“Let’s not talk about that right now” answers his friend with a smile “I need to come to terms with this new… us before” 

“Us ?”

“Even if it is just a fling” says Emmanuel, his hand on Justin’s cheek “It deserves to be called a ‘us’... Now kiss me before we go…” 

They continue kissing, and for the first time, Justin parts his lips just enough for Emmanuel’s tongue to enter in this forbidden land, and explore. Their kiss becomes more and more passionate, and desperate even. They want to take the best of it, as they have no idea if they will find a way to sneak out any other time soon. 

“Sir, it is time to go” warns one of the security officers through the door 

Emmanuel steals a chaste kiss from his partner’s lips and stands up, escaping the tender arms of Justin. The Canadian stays seated for a while, panting, lost, confused… He just put himself into some deep trouble. If Sophie ever learns about it, he will lose everything that he holds dear. Almost everything, he corrects himself as he looks up to the French president busy arranging his tie and shirt, and passing a hand through his hair. 

“Come on Justin” he says “We have to go…And don’t play grumpy on me, you know I am as sad as you to not be able to touch you anywhere but here.” 

“Did you really just asked me to not play grumpy on you ?!” exclaims Justin now clearly amused 

“See, it works !” grins the French 

He unlocks the door as Justin gather the leftovers of their lunches and throws it away. Emmanuel grabbed his coffee on the way out, and he is waiting for him in the corridor, his security team not far from him. Justin grabs his own cup, arranges his hair with his free hand and joins them on the way back to the assembly room. This lunch break was the wildest he ever had and he can’t wait until they are reunited again. 

“You mentioned a working dinner this morning” says Justin “Is it still on ?” 

“I’ll see with my team if we can arrange that. And tomorrow, dinner just the two of us ?”

“Works for me” answers Trudeau with a smile “Having dinner with an excellent friend is always a delight” 

They glance at each other and try not to blush. Inside the assembly room, they part ways, each of them going back to his seat. Emmanuel feels calmer than in the morning, now that he is certain about what Justin feels for him. He concentrates on each and every speech and take notes. The Canadian Prime Minister however feels uneasy this afternoon. He betrayed Sophie. He threw his marriage to the trash, for what ? A fling ? A couple of kisses with Emmanuel ? Is it really worth it ? How can he feel that way about the French and still love his wife at the same time ? It feels too much, and too dangerous to pursue that relationship. What if someone finds out ? What if their wives find out ? What if his kids find out ? All of this is racing through his brain, and it gives him a very nasty headache. 

“Fuck” he swears quietly 

“What’s wrong ?” asks his Minister 

“My head. It hurts…” 

He takes his head into his hands and try to breathe deeply to calm down, but he is under so much stress that it doesn’t work. Emmanuel, seated a couple of rows behind him starts to worry. He has been watching Justin for a few minutes now, and his Canadian counterpart seems to feel bad. He secretly sends a text to check on him. 

**_Justin ? What is going on ? Are you alright ?_ **

The Canadian does not answer. Emmanuel sees him flee from the room during the intermission between speeches, and he decides to not run after him. They lived through a lot of things at lunch break, and maybe Justin needs some time to process. Who wouldn’t ? They both cheated on their wives with each other, and although Emmanuel knows he can handle a secret relationship with Justin, he is not sure the Canadian will be able to do the same. But no matter what, Emmanuel will not push him. If Justin does not want to involve into anything with him, he’ll respect it. They anyway live far away from each other and should not see each other more than a dozen of times a year. They can manage. 

**_I don’t want to worry you. I just need some time…_ **

The text comforts him in his position, and Justin comes back minutes later, looking a bit refreshed, and at least less panicking. The most difficult thing for them both will be to pretend all the time being no more than best friends. because, to the world, that is all they can be… 

  
  
  
  
  



	5. December 21st 2017 - Paris, France - Happy Birthday, Mister President !

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.  
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 5 : Happy birthday Mister President (Marilyn Monroe) seems a fitting choice ;)

Emmanuel enters into his office, eating a piece of cake with one hand, typing on his phone with the other. Brigitte insisted on them having a cake today, despite not celebrating his birthday officially before two days. They are beginning their holidays tomorrow, and will head back home to spend some time with their families. Nemo, his dog, is trailing him, hoping to get some treats from the President’s desk. Emmanuel is answering some well wishes for his birthday, when he notices a package on his desk. It should have arrived with the mail. 

“Oi !” he exclaims as the dog walks between his legs “What do you want ? Oh I know what you want…” 

Emmanuel opens his drawer and grabs a treat for the dog. He sits on his chair, and waits for the animal to put his head on his thigh, calmly, to give him. 

“Good boy” he says as he give shim the treat “You know I can’t resist you…” 

The dog wanders off, having had what he wanted, and Emmanuel focuses on the package. It is highly unusual for packages to arrive entirely sealed and untouched on his desk, and it worries him slightly. But he recognizes the handwriting and understands : it is coming from Canada, from Justin, and he specially instructed his team to never ever open something that was coming from the Trudeau’s residence. Emmanuel grabs a pair of scissors on his desk and opens the tape on the sides of the box. He opens it and pulls out what is inside. It has been double wrapped in a kraft paper, and there is a card. Emmanuel pulls it out first, and he smiles at the caribou blowing candles illustration on the front. 

_ Happy birthday Emmanuel ! I wish you all the best for this special day, and encourage you to take some time and relax with your family for the holidays.  _

_ Sophie and the kids are wishing you the same, and they made fun of me writing this card for you.  _

_ Kisses,  _

_ See you soon  _

_ Justin  _

It puts a large smile on Emmanuel’s face, and he unwraps the gift. A jar of maple syrup, of course, and two books from Canadian literature. He takes the first one in hand : _ Iphigénie en trichromie suivi de La colère d'Achille _ , from Michel Ouellette. Interesting, he thinks. Those are theatre plays, and when Emmanuel opens the book he is delighted to find a special dedication from his friend on the front page : 

_ I know your love and passion for theatre. I am no expert, but I really enjoyed these, and I think you will find some delight in diving into them too. Let me know what you think about them.  _

_ Regards,  _

_ Justin  _

With a chuckle Emmanuel puts the book down and looks at the second one : Haida mythology. Intrigued, Emmanuel opens it to see if Justin left a note on that one. 

_ Haida is an ethnic group from our Western border. I have ties with them, but that is another story. I thought you might enjoy those myths and stories, from a far different Canada than you might imagine.  _

_ Enjoy,  _

_ Justin  _

Interesting choice indeed. Emmanuel puts the books down on his desk, with the jar of syrup and he folds the cardboard box in which they arrived to put it in the trash. He puts the birthday card up on his desk, and sits back into his chair. Justin has been extremely cute with him these last few weeks, and Emmanuel put that on the account of Christmas preparation. But maybe it also had to do with this delightful surprise. 

“There you are !” exclaims Brigitte entering into his office “I wondered where you had vanished” 

“Sorry” apologizes the President “Although you know that I am in my office most of the time…” 

“Even on your birthday” she frowns “What is all that ?” 

She points at the gifts on the desk and Emmanuel grins. She silently questions him to know if she can read the card and he nods. She smiles looking at it, and puts it back once she’s done. 

“Nice of him to think about you like that…” she comments looking at the gifts “What did you buy for his birthday ?” 

“Socks and a wristwatch” answers the French President “I’ll make sure it will be delivered on the exact day” 

She raises an eyebrow but does not dwell further on that idea. 

“Have you sent it already ?” she asks 

“Tomorrow” he replies “Before we go. Why ?” 

“You should add something to eat” she says “Madeleines, biscuits, or a bottle of wine maybe… ?” 

“I don’t know what I’d do without you” he says kissing her hand “I’ll add a bottle of wine”

“Do you want to work this afternoon ?” 

“I have a couple of files to review, darling. But I’ll be done by six no matter what” 

“Good” she nods “We are going out tonight” 

“I know” 

He grins and they exchange a very tender kiss. She always invited him to the restaurant on his birthday, no matter where they were, or what they were doing. She steals a last kiss from him, and leaves him alone. She closes the office door behind her, and Emmanuel immediately seizes his phone to call Justin. He presses the button for a video call, but it gets rejected almost instantly. One minute later, he receives an apology from his best friend. 

**_Not now Manu, I am in the middle of a meeting. Let me call you back when we have a break._ **

The French President starts working, his phone in front of him, impatiently waiting for the Canadian’s call. But it is not coming and it starts to bother him very much. Why isn’t Justin calling him ? Since that day at the United Nations, the one that changed everything for them, they were in communication every single day, at least for a few minutes, sometimes a lot more. Emmanuel needs to alleviate some of the stress he feels growing inside of him. He pockets his phone and aime for the piano, just in front of his office. He sits on the stool and starts playing. He doesn’t have to look at the keys to play some of his favorite tunes. He played and rehearsed them so many times that it comes instinctively to him. He starts with Debussy, and ends up playing ABBA when his cellphone finally rings. On his screen pops up the picture he took with Justin, when they had their night stroll in Germany. Emmanuel smiles and accepts the video call, his phone in front of him, where the partitions should stand. 

“Hi” he says 

“Piano playing ?” questions Justin with a grin 

To answer Emmanuel plays a few notes. Justin smiles at him and it makes his heart flutter. 

“Happy birthday Emmanuel” says the Canadian “Hope you are having a good day” 

“I am. I had a lovely package on my desk this morning… Very interesting choice of books” 

“Thanks” nods his best friend “I had help I must admit…”

“Sophie ?”

“Yes. She helped me narrow down the choice.” 

“You’ll thank her for me” 

“I will. What are your plans for the day ?”

“Brigitte invited me to the restaurant this evening, and right now I am trying to finish reviewing files before the holidays” 

“By playing piano ?” 

The sarcasm makes them both laugh and Emmanuel answers : 

“I was taking a short break. And wondering why you weren’t calling me back…” 

As he says so, the French goes back into his office, and notices that he has a visitor. 

“Are you alone ?” asks Justin noticing the change of scenery 

“More or less” replies the President

Seeing Justin frown, Emmanuel crouches, and calls his dog. Nemo comes immediately, licking the French’s face which makes Justin burst into laughter. 

“Well” he exclaims “At least he gets to do what I want to do to you…” 

“Lick my face ?” 

They smile at each other, and the president sits on the floor, playing with the black dog as he keeps chatting with Justin. 

“When are your holidays beginning ?” asks the European 

“Tonight. I can’t wait to be honest, I had to wake up at six this morning because of meetings, and I have barely seen my kids this whole week…” 

“I understand. We are leaving tomorrow with Brigitte, if I manage to finish packing my suitcase…” 

“Where are you going ?”

“To visit our families” replies the French who struggles to keep the dog from licking his face over and over “That is what we do for every Christmas. And you ? Anything planned ?”

“Home for Christmas, and then we might go somewhere for New Years Eve but I don’t know. Sophie is taking charge of that.”

“And your birthday ?”

“I have the misfortune of being born on Christmas day, and as much as I like to believe I am a wonderful gift, my birthday usually gets eclipsed by two other men : Jesus and Santa…” 

“I see. What about your wife ? Surely, your birthday comes before Christmas”

“We have three children Emmanuel, nothing comes before Christmas” 

They laugh and the President picks up his phone to go back to his desk. He gives a couple of treats to Nemo who keeps bugging him to get some, and he asks the dog to leave him alone for a while. 

“I have to get back to work” he says “But I wanted to thank you for the lovely gifts, I really appreciate it…” 

“Anything for you” whispers Trudeau in response “You know how much it matters to me. You know how much you matter to me”

“And you to me. I can’t wait to see you Justin”

“Soon, it will come soon”

“March is in three months Justin !” replies the President “It seems like an eternity to me…”

“Same for me, but what other choice do we have ?” 

Emmanuel was going through harsh ups and down regarding his affair with Justin. Or did it deserve to even be called an affair ? They barely exchanged a few kisses... What will happen if the chemistry between them is gone the next time they see each other ? Justin helplessly watches his friend’s smile vanish. 

“Manu” he whispers “Please…”

“Sorry” sighs the French president “I just wish I could hold you close”

“I do too. But we have to be patient. Believe me, it will only be better when we finally meet again…”

“I am trying to believe you. I just can’t help but get annoyed at our unmatching schedules…” 

“I know. I have to go back, they are waiting for me. But I can call you back later if you want to chat”

“I’ll let you know. Thanks Justin”

“Always a pleasure to talk with you Emmanuel” 

The Canadian winks and waves at his friend before hanging up. Emmanuel drops the phone on his desk, and sighs loudly, taking his head into his hands. His relationship with Justin is far from simple, and it makes him crazy to not be able to see the man as much as he’d want to. And there’s Brigitte. He is betraying his wedding, both of them are, and Emmanuel feels guilty. She does not deserve to be treated like that. But he loves her. And he has feelings for Justin. He doesn’t understand why but both seem to be compatible. At least, there are room for both Brigitte and Justin in his heart. And that is dangerous. His wife thinks that the Canadian is only an excellent friend, but if she really knew, he’d have to sign the divorce papers immediately. 


	6. December 25th 2017 - Ottawa, Canada - A birthday that counts…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.  
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 6 : Jingle Bell Rock

“OOOOH SOPHIE !” lets slip Justin, a hand behind her head, pushing her deeper on his cock

“Shut up ! You are going to wake the kids !” she replies with a grin 

“Sorry” 

Justin bites his lip to keep quiet, and tries to silently enjoy the perfect blowjob he is receiving. A birthday tradition from his lovely wife. On the morning of his birthday, each year, if she is not mad at him, which she was last year although Justin doesn’t remember why, she starts their day with some sex. And this year she dived under the sheets as soon as he woke up. And he can’t really complain about this. 

“Hmmm” he moans with his fist in his mouth to keep from screaming 

This has always been the greatest struggle of their sex life, ever since they had kids : Justin is very vocal in bed, and they nearly got caught more than once. 

“Fuck” he whispers “I am coming Soph’ !” 

He can’t help but move his hips slightly, so he can feel deeper inside her mouth. She keeps sucking, wanting him to gift her with his semen. It’s Christmas after all ! Justin’s body straightens and his muscles contracts, he ejaculates inside her mouth, and she swallows and licks clean her husband’s dick. She only lets go of him when she feels his rod softening and his body relax. The orgasm was powerful, and that is all she wanted. She gets upper in the bed, and lies down next to him. He kisses her with passion and also tenderness, as a way of thanking her. 

“I will never get tired of this birthday tradition” he whispers “Thanks a lot” 

“I love you Justin” 

“Love you too” he replies kissing her again 

They are both wanting to have sex, but on Christmas morning, it would be a miracle if their kids weren’t up in less than ten minutes. Which is not enough for Justin to rise again. Sophie has her head on his chest, letting her fingers play between his pecs. Justin has an arm around her waist, and the other one under his head. 

“Who do you think will be the first one to get up ?”

“Ella” she replies immediately “For sure”

“How do you know ?”

“Our boys are heavy sleepers, she is always the first one up…” 

“But it’s Christmas” smirks Justin “Which means we should probably get up and prepare breakfast for our three little monsters !” 

“Justin !” 

She is half-offended, half-amused. Justin grabs his boxers, plain black, and a Christmas jumper, while Sophie wraps herself in a night robe. Justin is caught up on his way out by his phone, buzzing on the nightstand. A gives a quick glance at the screen and immediately notices the smiley face of the French President. As he is about to pick up the call, Sophie frowns and says : 

“Come on Justin, it is Christmas…”

“Yes” he replies “But it’s also my birthday”

He grabs the phone, answering the video call, and flees into his office. He makes sure the door is closed and locked, and smiles at Emmanuel.

“Sorry” he apologizes “Sophie didn’t want me to take the call…” 

“Jealous much ?”

“Sort of”

“I wanted to make sure I was the first one to wish you a happy birthday…” 

Emmanuel glances at his wristwatch and smiles, proud at himself for calling so early. 

“Only Sophie beat you to it” laughs Justin “Thanks Manu’. I appreciate” 

“Did you get yourself a haircut ?” frowns the French.

“Yep” nods the Canadian trying to arrange his hair “Yesterday. Do you like it ?”

“Hmmm… I think I like it. What did your wife say ?”

“That she hated me for cutting the curls… But I couldn’t stand them anymore” 

“I understand” laughs Emmanuel “Anything special planned today ?”

“Besides opening Christmas and birthday presents ?”

The irony was strong and Emmanuel blushes slightly. Of course. He feels stupid for asking, but Justin keeps talking : 

“I sort of busted the surprise prepared by my wife and kids… I think we are leaving tonight for vacation…”

“Where ?” 

“Snow. That’s all I know. I found the card in Sophie’s nightstand, and I saw my chauffeur put the suitcases in the trunk of the car yesterday evening” 

“What a surprise it is !” jokes the President “You must be a hard one to surprise Justin” 

He can’t help but smile. Justin’s present is due to arrive today, and he hopes he will at least surprise him a bit with it. 

“What are you hiding ?” asks Justin. 

“You’ll see” replies Emmanuel.

“I like your jumper by the way” 

Emmanuel is wearing a winter grey and white jumper, far from the shirts and suits he wears everyday to work. And it feels great to see him a bit more relaxed and chill than usual. 

“Thanks. I try to obey by the ‘no suit, no tie’ rule when I am in family” 

“Where are you ?”

“Brigitte’s daughter. But the whole family is there… I managed to grab a few minutes alone for you, but I should probably head back” 

“I have to go anyway” indicates Justin “I can hear my kids running down the stairs with excitement.”

“Have a good day Justin. And Merry Christmas !” 

“All the same to you.” 

They smile at each other and the French hangs up. Justin drops the phone on his desk, and goes to the living-room. All three kids are already there, eagerly waiting for their father to arrive. 

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY !” they exclaim at the exact same time.

Ella-Grace jumps to her father’s neck, and Hadrien also comes for a hug. Justin waves at his eldest Xavier to also come. He hugs all three at once, and make sure each of them is covered with kisses. 

“Thanks” he finally says setting them free “I am so happy you are here with me to celebrate…” 

“AND IT’S CHRISTMAS !” shouts the youngest 

“Yes. It also is Christmas” smiles Sophie “Come back there, so you can open your gifts.” 

She does not seems too pissed at her husband for escaping to answer his phone, but Justin is sure she will bring the topic back on the table later. 

Far away from there, Emmanuel took a quick break in the bathroom after his call with Justin, to calm down, and make sure he does not look weird. He nervously scratches the back of his neck, and puts his phone back in his jeans pocket. He then joins his family back in the living-room, at the table. They are in-between starter and main-course, and his wife seems relieved to see him come back. 

“How’s our Canadian friend ?” she asks loudly so that everyone turns to him. 

“Hmm.. Uh... Awake” he blurts out taken by surprise “I mean… He’s good. It’s Christmas and his birthday, how could he be anything else than good ?”

He sits down next to Brigitte and frowns at her. Why did she do that ? Hopefully, the conversations are shifting on another subject, but Emmanuel whispers to his wife : 

“I hope you didn’t mind me calling Justin.”

“I don’t mind” she shrugs “But why now ? Why so early in the morning for him ?”

“I wanted to catch him before he opens my gift.” 

“Did he receive it ?”

“Not yet. I ensured it gets delivered in the beginning of the afternoon”

“Good. How did you manage to get a package delivered on Christmas day anyway ?”

“It seems that when you are ready to pay the extra-price, you can do almost anything.” 

“You and Justin really are good friends” she smiles “I am glad you can be friends with him, and I can’t wait to finally meet the man.” 

“Soon enough, darling...” 

Emmanuel winks and intertwines their fingers. He has not discussed this with her yet, but he thinks about inviting Justin for an official state visit in spring, and if they are lucky, they might get a more private weekend, and even go to Bregancon ! It is at least what he imagined. 

In Ottawa, the Trudeau family is relaxing on the couch, all of them cuddling, and reviewing the presents they unwrapped in the morning. Justin was right, Sophie and the kids arranged for a getaway trip to the countryside, and they are leaving the next morning. The kids are over excited, and each of them drew a Birthday card for their father, depicting the family skiing. Suddenly the doorbell rings and they all jump in scare. Who might it be ? On Christmas day ? 

“I’ll go” says Sophie jumping on her feet to get to the door 

“Who is it ?” asks Ella-Grace helping her little brother read a book 

“No idea” shrugs Justin busy helping Xavier build the dinosaur model he got for Christmas

“Careful” whispers the boy seeing his father put some pressure on the pieces they just assembled 

“It’s for you.” 

Sophie’s voice was sharp and icy, and Justin turns to look at her. What happened to her ? She is holding a cardboard box and waits for her husband to pick it up. Who might be sending him something ? Oh… Of course ! He excuses himself to his son, and grabs the box from his wife’s hands. 

“What is it Dad ?” asks Hadrien very curious.

“Who is it coming from ?” adds Ella-Grace. 

“What’s inside ?” says Xavier. 

Justin does not answer but put the box on their table. He grabs his key to crack open the tape and opens the box. He first pulls out a bottle of wine, then a smaller box, with a seal from the Elysée palace, and finally he gets to the birthday card. He opens it and reads the handwritten note from his friend : 

_ A very happy birthday to you Justin ! And Merry Christmas to you and your family !  _

_ May this end of year bring you joy, and allow you to take some much needed rest.  _

_ In the hope of seeing you soon,  _

_ Take care,  _

_ Kisses  _

_ Emmanuel  _

Justin barely contains a huge grin, and he notices Sophie has completely disinterested herself from the opening, contrary to their kids who are waiting eagerly for him to open the last box. Justin picks it up from the table, and removes the ribbon closing it. Inside he finds a wristwatch, the wristband bearing the French flag colours and a pair of socks, finely striped in blue, white and red. Inside the box there is a little note that says “I know how much you like socks”. Of course Emmanuel knows. Everyone does. 

“Yay ! New socks for you Dad !” exclaims Xavier.

“The watch looks cool” adds Ella-Grace “Who is it coming from ?” 

“My friend in France” answers Justin “For my birthday.” 

“Niiiice” smiles Xavier “What about the wine ?”

“French I guess” replies his dad taking the bottle into his hands “Yes indeed. Bordeaux red wine.” 

“Is it good ?”

“Certainly” nods Justin. 

He puts his gifts back into the box, throws the card on top and says : 

“I am going to put that where it belongs. You should stay here and see if your mother needs help with her crosswords.” 

Sophie sticks out her tongue at him, and Justin understands that she feels somewhat jealous about the gift he just got. Is it because it’s Christmas ? Or because it is from Emmanuel ? Justin brings the gifts into his office and picks up his phone. He has seven missed calls and realizes his brothers and mother have been trying to call him all morning. Shit. He completely forgot about his phone until now. First he texts his best friend in France to let him know he got the gift. 

**_Thanks a lot Emmanuel for the gifts. I love them. And my insufferable passion for socks is filled with this new addition._ **

**_Talk to you later._ **

He then proceeds to call back his family who all scowl him for not answering his phone on Christmas day. Especially since it is also his birthday, and the one of his brother. He spends hours on the phone with them, and he is still talking to his mother when Sophie knocks on his door to see what is taking him so long. She frowns at him and he mutters : 

“It is my Mom” 

“The kids want to see you” replies his wife “And so do I.” 

“I’ll be there in five...” whispers Justin. 

He cuts the conversation short with his mother, promising to drop by in the next week, and joins Sophie, who is leaning against the doorframe of his office. 

“Sorry” he immediately apologies “I had forgotten my phone in here.” 

“I know,” she says “because you forget anything else when it comes to Macron.” 

“Are you jealous of him ?”

“Should I ?” 

She seems mad, and Justin is walking on eggshells here. He can’t let his wife know he is closer than she suspect of Emmanuel, but in the other hand, he feels miserable for her to be jealous of him. 

“Should I be jealous of Emmanuel ?” she repeats. 

“That is silly Sophie, you know that… Emmanuel is a very good friend, and you know in politics it is a rare thing… But you are my wife. You two are on two totally different levels…”

“Yet your smile meant a lot when you got his gift.” 

“Sophie” sighs Justin “It is Christmas and my birthday, of course I am delighted to have gifts. Besides, what are you afraid of ?” 

“I am afraid of you getting trapped into something you don’t master Justin.” 

“I’m good,” he shrugs “please don’t worry in vain.” 

He leans forward and kisses her with all his love. He needs to reassure her, so that she stops being jealous of Emmanuel. Of course, deep inside he feels awful. He cheated on her, if kissing is considered cheating, or at least he intends to. But Emmanuel wasn’t placed on his path for nothing, and he believes that when you meet someone it is for a reason. And what he feels for Emmanuel is yet undefined, but there is something worth fighting for. And it tores him from inside. Because he loves Sophie. More than anything. She is his wife, the one that always stood by him, the mother of his children… And yet, part of him is tempted outside of this marriage. By a man ! If she knew, she’d never forgive him. Ever. And he is not ready to face that just yet. 

“I love you Sophie. I love you so much” he whispers in her ear “And if it weren’t for the kids, I’d take you right here and now.”

“You are getting wilder instead of wiser with age, love.” she laughs “But I’m fine with it !” 

They both chuckle and keep kissing until a loud disgusted noise echoes in the corridor behind them. 

“It’s gross !” exclaims Ella-Grace “Could you please not do that all the time ?” 

Sophie and Justin exchange an accomplice look, and they both go back to play with their children. 

In France, Emmanuel is lounging in his stepdaughter’s living-room, a mug of coffee in hand, staring into the distance through the bay-window. The kids are napping, exhausted from running everywhere all day, and the adults are in the kitchen, washing the dishes and preparing for the evening dinner. He needs some time alone though, and all of them know that. But Brigitte feels slightly worried. Her husband is too quiet for a Christmas day, and she joins him into the living-room. He is startled to feel her hand slide on his hip, and her head find her natural place in his neck. 

“You are thinking too much, honey” she says “What’s on your mind ?”

“Nothing in particular” he lies “I simply enjoy the quietness…”

“Is it about Justin ?” she asks.

She noticed that he got strangely silent ever since he had the man over the phone at midday, but she can’t really grasp why. 

“No. No !” he exclaims “Why would it be ?”

“Do you miss him ?” she asks. 

“A lot” admits Emmanuel half to himself. 

“Maybe we should invite him for a state visit ?” she suggests. 

“I was hoping to talk you through this” he smiles “But as usual you don’t need words to get the bottom of my thoughts.” 

They smile at each other and kiss tenderly. She proceeds to grab his phone in his jeans pocket and put it between his hands. 

“Call him if you need to, but please stop frowning like that…” 

“I am not frowning !” he reacts. 

“Yes you are” she laughs “It gives you that cute little wrinkle at the top of your nose.” 

She kisses him once more and Emmanuel reads once again the last text he got from Justin. A thank you note for his gifts. He wants to call Justin. He desperately wants to talk to the man. But they are both going to be in trouble with their families if he does so. Instead he opens instagram and scrolls through his feed. His whole face enlightens when he sees the last picture posted by Justin. It was taken in his office, in his house, legs crossed on his desk. You can’t see much but Justin’s trousers, socks, and shoes. And the socks are the ones Emmanuel gifted him for his birthday. There is a small caption at the bottom of the picture : “Thanks everyone for the birthday wishes (and gifts). I’m going to be out of the office for a couple of days. Have safe holidays with your families, wherever you are in the country, or outside”. The ten first comment are compliments on the new socks Justin is wearing. And it makes Emmanuel full of pride and joy. Justin liked his gift. He liked it so much that he exposed it for the whole world to see. 

“Good news I hope” says Sebastien, Brigitte’s son, who noticed him smiling like a child. 

“Sort of...” brushes off the French President, beaming.

He does not have to call Justin. He does not need to. They are connected, even across the ocean. And it makes no doubt that Justin’s instagram post was aiming directly at him. And exposing, unbeknownst to anyone else, their relationship. 

“Do you need help ?” asks Emmanuel bursting through the kitchen door. 

“We have oysters to open,” replies Tiphaine, the youngest daughter of his wife “if you feel like doing it.” 

“Careful with the knife.” warns Brigitte “Please.” 

She adds, whispering so only him can hear : 

“What about Justin ?”

“Let’s talk about him later.” he replies stealing a kiss from her lips “Today is for our family.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave a comment, I love discussing these two. If you have theories on what will happen in the next chapters, I'm all ears ;p 
> 
> You can find me on Twitter @Ao3Groovehigh, don't be shy :)


	7. March 3rd 2018 - London, United Kingdom - London Calling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.  
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 7 : Why did it have to be me ? (ABBA) - or the incredible version from the second Mamma Mia movie

Justin heard a familiar voice in his back as he was about to go up the stairs of Buckingham palace. He stops and turns on his heels to greet his best friend. Emmanuel is waiting for his wife to exit the car. The French president is wearing a blue tuxedo, with a white shirt and a blue tie. His wife, Brigitte is wearing a dark blue dress, knee-length, with lace sleeves. And high heels. She looks incredible, as always. Justin is wearing the same shade of blue as Emmanuel, but his tie is red, matching with his socks. And he is wearing a cream shirt. 

“Isn’t it my favorite Frenchie ?!” exclaims Justin   
“How many French people do you know ?” replies Emmanuel with a grin 

The two men hug each other, their faces beaming with a radiant smile. Together at last. Someone clearing their throat drives them back to reality. 

“Justin, please meet my wife, Brigitte” says the French taking his wife’s hand and pulling her closer.  
“Splendid as always,” comments Justin “a delight to finally meet you Mrs.Macron.” 

He is playing his charming self, and it makes Emmanuel laugh. It is the purest sound in the world to the Canadian who struggles to keep his eyes on the woman he is talking to, and not on his friend. 

“I believe you should call me Brigitte,” she replies to him “given your friendship with my husband, we are meant to see each other often…”   
“Fine, Brigitte it is then !” nods Justin “First name basis for all of us.”   
“You came here alone ?” frowns Emmanuel   
“Sophie had prior engagements she could not cancel.” explains the Canadian as they go up the stairs the three of them together

Emmanuel is holding Brigitte’s hand, but his other arm is brushing against Justin’s and it sends shivers down their spines. They’d like to touch each other more, they’d like to kiss, but it is impossible. It will have to do for tonight. 

“Do you mind if I go in first ?” questions Justin   
“Please” replies Emmanuel smiling at him “Show us how it is done.” 

The Queen is waiting by the entrance of the reception hall, with half of the royal family, to greet her guests. She was hosting a dinner for all the Commonwealth head of states, and as per tradition she invited a foreign country to join them, to strengthen the bond with the organization. This year it was France. And Emmanuel was feeling really nauseous about it. Meeting the Queen, a woman he admires and respect, is stressing him very much, and he confided to his wife earlier at their hotel. 

“We’re good” she whispers “We’re good”   
“You look amazing” he whispers back at her 

Justin presents himself in front of the Queen. He joins his heels and bows his head, respectfully. 

“Your Majesty” he says “It is a pleasure to be here, as always.”   
“Prime Minister” she replies “Sharply dressed as usual...” 

She always made a comment on his style, a little joke between them, each time she was meeting him. It makes him smile and she extends her hand for him to shake. He then proceeds to greet the other royal family members present : Charles and Camilla, then William, whom he congratulates on the arriving baby, and finally Harry. The redhead prince takes Justin into his arms, happy to see him. 

“I missed you” he says   
“You should come to Canada more often !” says Justin “With your wife...”  
“Future wife.” corrects Meghan standing next to her fiance “Pleasure to see you, Justin.”

They shake hands and Justin enters further into the room, grabbing a glass of champagne on a passing-by tray. 

Emmanuel lets go of Brigitte’s hand and follows on Justin’s path. He bows his head in front of the Queen while his wife manages to do a convincing curtsey (she practised). 

“President Macron” says the Queen “I have heard a lot about you, and it is a pleasure to have you here tonight.”  
“The pleasure is all mine.” nervously replies Emmanuel shaking the hand she presents him

From inside the room, Justin keeps an eye on his best friend : Emmanuel seems to be doing good. Him and Brigitte are having a word with each of the royals, and they seem a bit less nervous than earlier. 

“Justin !” groans a voice he knows all to well behind his back   
“President Trump.” he replies shaking hands with the man “Mrs.Trump” he adds greeting Melania “You look very beautiful tonight.” 

A nice compliment for a lady always has its effect, and she blushes slightly, thanking him in silence. Trump frowns at him, but Justin is already half-gone. He smiles at Emmanuel who is deep into a conversation with King Letsie III of Lesotho, and turns to the Prime-Minister of New-Zealand. Before the official state dinner, seated and formal, the Queen is giving them the opportunity to meet, discuss and greet each other in a much less formal way. All attendees have now arrived, and the Royals are wandering through the room, chatting with each and everyone, taking their role very seriously. Justin finished his glass and wants another one, he turns to grab one on the tray a waiter is holding nearby, and as he is about to seize the drink, another hand reaches for the same glass. 

“Sorry, Mister Prime Minister,” grins Emmanuel who found a perfect excuse to let his fingers brush against the skin of his best friend “after you.” 

Justin takes a glass, and Emmanuel his and they raise their glasses to each other. Emmanuel then proceeds to take another one for his wife, and he joins her further, while she is talking to Theresa May. Justin can’t take his eyes off of Emmanuel’s bum and he has to shake his head to dismiss the very naughty thoughts that crossed his mind. He jumps in scare and nearly drops his glass when he feels a warm and powerful hand on his shoulder. 

“Sorry,” apologizes Prince Harry “did I startle you ?”  
“Slightly.” sighs Justin giving a glance around him to check that no one saw his trouble “Where is your fiancee ?”  
“Up there,” points Harry “Chatting with my brother… But I needed to talk to you.”  
“About what ?” asks Justin distracted by the sight of the French President, and his wife, walking by them.

In the process, and with all possible discretion, Emmanuel touches Justin’s hand for a split second. This contact makes the Canadian blush and he has a hard time concentrate on Harry who is laughing at him. 

“Seriously, Justin ?” questions the British Prince “You of all people fell for him ?”  
“I don’t know what you mean...” replies Justin staring at the bottom of his glass to avoid meeting the scrutinizing gaze of his friend.  
“Yes, you do.” says Harry “Come, we’ll find some place else to talk.” 

Both men put their empty glasses on a side table and Justin follows Harry through the corridors of Buckingham. They finally arrive in a smaller room, and Harry closes the door behind them. 

“I sense I am on something… juicy, am I not ?” asks the playful Prince  
“Hardly,” brushes off Justin “What do you think you discovered ?”   
“I have seen how you two look at each other. You look at the French President with the exact same eyes my nephew, George, is looking at his Granola bar when he comes back from school…”   
“No, I am not.” denies Justin 

Harry gives him a not-convinced look and the PM sighs. He passes a hand through his hair and nervously scratches the back of his neck. 

“Emmanuel and I, we are somehow getting closer than we should…”   
“How close ?”  
“We kissed.” admits the North-American   
“You… What ?!” exclaims the Prince in response “Since when are you… Gay ? What about Sophie ?”  
“I am not gay.” assesses Justin “You have to believe me on that point. And I love my wife. Very much… I simply… fell for the wrong person.”   
“And how are you going to act on that ?” wonders Harry, suddenly worried for his friend   
“I don’t know yet. I’m still working on it.”  
“This is insane, Justin !” says Harry looking at him “You can’t jeopardize your marriage for him.”   
“You know, better than anyone, that you don’t get to choose who you develop feelings for.”   
“Feelings ? Are we there yet ? Oh God, Justin !” 

Harry is appalled by the nonsense of his friend. Of course Justin always had a big heart, but this is too risky, and too crazy of a move, even for him. 

“Look, I don’t need you to understand.” says Justin a bit embarrassed “But I need to be sure you won’t tell anyone about this.”  
“I won’t.”  
“Thanks !”

The two men hug each other for a long time, but as friends. Good friends. 

“We should go back, if we arrive late for the dinner, my grandmother will never forgive you.”  
“What about you ?”  
“She loves me. I can do all the mistakes I want…” brags the Prince with a cheeky smile   
“What is her opinion about the wedding ?”  
“Meghan does her very best to blend into the family, but she is different, and I think my grandmother understood that… Unfortunately, neither my father nor my brother see things that way…”  
“I understand” says Justin “But you and Meghan are in love, and that is the only thing that should matter.”  
“Love always wins.” enigmatically concludes Harry as they blend into the crowd to enter the dining hall 

Justin is brought to his seat by a butler who says to him : 

“We seated you in front of the French president, in case he gets tired of speaking in English” 

The table is shaped like an U, and he is indeed seated right in front of Emmanuel. Brigitte is sitting next to her husband, with Harry and Meghan by her. Fuck. Justin gives a warning glance at the redhead prince, who just noticed that the situation is going to get awkward during dinner. Next to Justin is the president of Cyprus, with his wife. 

“Mister Prime Minister,” says the man greeting him “How are you doing ?”  
“Fine, what about you ?” answers Justin shaking hands with him   
“Excellent.” answers the man 

Justin also greet his wife and they all take their seats. Emmanuel and Brigitte are, for now, oblivious to the mess this dinner is going to be. Justin is scrutinizing his best friend, biting his lip to resist the urge to kiss him. This lips, and those eyes are going to lose him… 

“Afraid I am not good enough in English for a whole dinner ?” jokes Emmanuel with Justin in French   
“Apparently. They at least wanted to give you, and Brigitte, the opportunity to not speak English for the whole evening” answers the Canadian also in French   
“Oh the French reputation of not being good in English !” exclaims Brigitte in French as well   
“To be perfectly honest,” resumes Justin in English this time “the previous French President was really really bad in English.”   
“I agree” nods the Cyprian President “Thankfully you are not like that, Emmanuel.” 

They all laugh, and Emmanuel thinks to himself that they probably shouldn’t talk trash about François Hollande, no matter how bad he was at English. 

“And if I may add,” continues the Cyprian “it is very uncomfortable in international meetings to have an officially single President…” 

Emmanuel chuckles and takes Brigitte’s hand in his. He can imagine. Although this is very archaic, and conformist, to expect from any head of state to be married. Or at least in a couple. 

“By the way,” asks Prince Harry to Justin “where is Sophie ?”  
“She got held in Canada by prior engagements.” explains the Canadian “She had two charity events planned tonight, and her presence was required… And it’s not like we didn’t come here every year…”   
“Sophie is a very nice woman” says Harry “Have you met her already ?” he adds to the French President.  
“I haven’t had that chance.” replies Emmanuel trying to hide his embarrassment. 

If Harry knew… Emmanuel has no desire to meet Sophie. It’ll remind him that both Justin and him are cheating on their wives with each other. And that is a reality is is not ready yet to face. Justin frowns at Harry. He hoped that the Prince could have been a bit more subtle. They don’t get the chance to continue on that topic, as the Queen is arrived, and ready to pronounce an opening speech. As they listen to her, for a solid twenty minutes, Justin and Emmanuel keep glancing at each other, trying to be discreet, but failing at it miserably. 

“Stop that” scowls Brigitte to his husband “Try to behave Emmanuel, please…”  
“Sorry.” he apologizes, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb “You know how nervous this makes me…”   
“I know.” 

She smiles at him and shifts on her seat so Emmanuel can intertwine his fingers with hers on her thigh. It is sweet and full of love, and Emmanuel catches a glimpse of Justin looking at them, with a straight cold face. Is this jealousy ? Or is he misinterpreting ? They all applaud the end of the Queen’s speech and waiters are passing by the tables to pour drinks to all the guests. Emmanuel and his wife agree on white wine, but Justin sticks to water. If he starts drinking now, he might not be able to keep his mouth shut later in the evening. A ballet of waiters are bringing the first plates, and a discreet, but nice scent is filling the air. It is only at that point that Emmanuel realizes he is starving. He had to skip lunch because he was on a meeting, and he only managed to grab a toast when he came back to his hotel to prepare for the evening. 

“You’ll see,” says Harry to Emmanuel with a grin “the food served here in Buckingham is one of the best you’ll ever have.”   
“I highly doubt that British cuisine can stand up to French gastronomy…” jokes Justin “But let Emmanuel be the judge of that.”  
“My wife has a better taste than me in the matter.” jokes the French “You know that Justin…” 

The French President catches a frown from the Prince sitting next to him, directed at the Canadian Prime Minister. 

“Have you guys meet often ?” asks the Cyprian President   
“Twice.” answers Justin   
“Three times.” corrects Macron immediately, frowning at his counterpart “How can you have forgotten that ?”

They both repress a laugh. 

“And you both ?” questions Brigitte turning to Harry and Justin “You also seem really close…”   
“I met Justin years ago,” explains the Prince “and I have always had strong ties with Canada.”  
“And we hosted the Invictus Games last year.” adds Justin “A very nice edition by the way…”   
“The Invictus Games,” says Emmanuel between two bites “is that the thing you launched for the wounded soldiers ?”  
“Yes !” exclaims Harry “As a former soldier myself, that was the least I could do…”   
“And the soldiers love him !” exclaims Meghan, visibly proud of her soon-to-be husband “You should see him with them, it is like he’s part of their lives…”   
“I agree.” nods Trudeau “I have seen it on your last visit, you are incredible with soldiers. From all nations, and with all kind of injuries…”   
“I mean…” tries Harry slightly embarrassed by all the compliments “I had to do something for them…”   
“And it is a success !” concludes Emmanuel “From what I’ve heard !” 

Justin noticed during this conversation that if he extends his leg under the table, he can have his knee brushing against Emmanuel’s. But that would be an incredibly bold move, not to mention the risks that they would be taking. But the sensation of being naughty, and close, is irresistible. He moves slightly and catches the surprised look of his best friend across the table when their knees bump into each other. Emmanuel closes his fist on the table, and repress all the silly ideas that came to his mind. How dares the Canadian tease him like that ? Of course he wants to kiss him, to be close, to feel him in his arms… But that is incredibly dangerous. Right here and now, with so many people around. And Brigitte. And Harry who seems very intrigued by the dynamic of their duo. he has been keeping an eye on both of them since the beginning of the dinner, and it starts to worry Emmanuel. He tries to grab Justin’s attention, but the Canadian is deep in conversation with his neighbour, his leg still outrageously touching his best friend’s one. They are going to get caught. Emmanuel has no way to move so that the contact between them breaks, without alerting his wife and neighbours. He agrees on a second glass of wine with relief, hoping it’ll help reduce his nervousness. Brigitte started discussing with Harry and Meghan about their wedding to come, and he tries to get interested, but the warmth of Justin’s knee is distracting his mind. Their second plates are brought at the table, and the tone of conversations lowers down a bit, because everyone starts eating. Justin straightened up on his seat, because he understood Emmanuel’s uneasiness. Their bodies are no longer touching, and both of them feel better that way.   
The rest of the dinner is going pretty well for the secret lovers. Justin keeps bumping his knee into Emmanuel’s leg, by accident, and the French keep glancing and smiling at his friend. Prince Harry, who knows, is extremely suspicious, but can’t say a word. They eat and discuss, getting more and more confident, but also more and more eager to kiss each other once this is all done. 

“When are you going back home to your wife, Justin ?” asks the Prince over his cup of coffee   
“My flight takes off tomorrow evening,” replies the Canadian “which means I still have a whole day in London. I am supposed to meet with… New-Zealand and South Africa leaders tomorrow. But I have a free lunch time, do you want to have lunch together, Harry ?”  
“I can’t tomorrow.” politely declines the Prince   
“I can.” whispers Emmanuel 

He thought he said it quietly enough not to be heard, but he was deeply mistaken. Harry frowns at him, so does Brigitte but Justin grins and says : 

“Deal ! Brigitte, will you join us ?”   
“I don’t think so,” she says “you’d talk better without me.”   
“About that…” adds the Canadian “Would you mind if I take your husband with me for a while tonight ?”   
“Work if you have to.” replies the French President’s wife “But bring him back to the hotel afterwards, please…”   
“Sure.” 

Justin smiles and winks at his friend. Emmanuel blushes slightly, but tries to keep a straight face. To save apparences. 

“Where are you staying by the way ?” asks Meghan to the French presidential couple   
“Notting Hill.” replies Brigitte “A very nice place to stay…”   
“The best in London !” agrees Prince Harry “I don’t know how safe it would be for you, but a walk in the neighbourhood is a must to do !” 

They all laugh and the dinner finds an end soon after. Emmanuel takes his wife’s arm, and they go down the flight of stairs, chatting with Justin. Once down, waiting for their car, Emmanuel briefs the security officer that went along them : 

“You go back with my wife, I will ride with Justin, we have important business to discuss.”   
“But, Sir,” tries to argue the man   
“No arguing. You take good care of my wife, and wait for my return at our hotel…” 

The officer sighs but adds nothing. There is no point in discussing orders with his boss anyway. The French car arrives, and Emmanuel kisses his wife chastly before letting her climb aboard, with the security guy. Justin turned his eyes away, trying not to look, and not to be jealous. 

“I came with my chauffeur” explains the Canadian unbuttoning his jacket “And my security officer will stay on the front of the car…”   
“Just you and me, then ?” whispers the French   
“Yep.” grins the Prime Minister

Emmanuel is about to reply that they won’t be able to kiss anyway, but the car arrives and Justin opens the door for him, and gestures him to climb aboard. 

“Good evening.” says Macron climbing on the back seat of the car   
“Good evening.” adds Trudeau to his staff “Take us through a ride in the streets of London, and then to Emmanuel’s hotel.”   
“Here’s the address.” adds Emmanuel lending his phone to the chauffeur 

Justin has very boldly taken advantage of the French leaning forward to place his hand on Emmanuel’s knee. The French president frowns at him and is ready to move, but no one seems to have notice. And they both waited so much for this touch. If only they could kiss… The chauffeur hands back his phone to the President and Emmanuel sits back on the seat, watching with interest Justin. The Canadian is grinning, and after giving instruction to his chauffeur to drive around for at least twenty minutes before heading to Notting Hill, he slams his fist on a hidden switch behind the seat of his bodyguard. A black screen elevates between the front and the back of the car, isolating them from the two other passengers. 

“Good” nods Justin sitting closer to Emmanuel “Just what we needed…” 

He places a hand on Emmanuel’s cheek, both of them gazing at the other. 

“I wanted to do that all evening, Manu.” smiles the Canadian “May I kiss you ?”  
“Are you really asking permission ?” questions the French “For God’s sake Justin…” 

Emmanuel sighs, and grabs Justin by the collar of his jacket to pull him closer. Their mouths find each other and they both moan of satisfaction. All evening their dreamt about this, and to finally be able, after months of not seeing each other, to simply kiss, is a delight. 

“I missed that.” indicates Emmanuel, his head lightened by the many emotions that come to his mind   
“Me as well” 

Justin keeps kissing Emmanuel, one hand still caressing the cheek of his partner, the other one in the President’s back. Emmanuel’s hands are in Justin’s hair and neck, caressing tenderly the exposed skin. They don’t speak, they don’t need words anyway. Their intimacy is their kisses, and the looks they give each other. They pause for awhile, Justin’s forehead pressed on Emmanuel’s. 

“How could we do so long without kissing ?” asks Justin   
“I honestly don’t know.” 

Emmanuel chuckles and steals a kiss from the Canadian’s lips. 

“It feels so damn good !” swears the French   
“So damn good.” repeats the Canadian 

They stop kissing for a while, but their hands find each other, and they intertwine their fingers. Both of them lean against the back of the seat, turned on their sides to face each other and Emmanuel says : 

“Is it bad if I don’t feel guilty at all ?”   
“Not really,” shrugs Justin “love is love, and it always finds its way. Neither you, nor I chose to be in that situation.”   
“But kissing is cheating.”   
“It is. And we will take responsibilities for our actions if it ever came to our wives ears, don’t you think ?”  
“Sorry. I am ruining the mood…”   
“Those are questions we need to discuss, Manu. Never apologize to me…”   
“Let’s talk about your state visit instead. I really can’t wait to have you at my place !”   
“I can’t wait either !” laughs Justin   
“Will your wife and kids come along ?”  
“Would that bother you ?” asks Justin in return   
“Not really, but I’d rather have you for myself only.”  
“Well, Sophie and the kids will stay in Canada anyway…” 

Emmanuel can’t help but smile. Justin shushes him with a kiss and then they keep talking. 

“Do you think you could extend your trip for a couple of days ? I’d like us to go to the summer residence of the French Presidency for a day or two after your planned visit… If you’d like it of course…”   
“If I’d like to spend a day away with you ?!” exclaims Justin half-offended “How dare you ask if I’d like it ? Of course ! Yes, yes, yes ! A million times yes !” 

Emmanuel is amused by the childish, but very cute behaviour of his partner. 

“Good. Then you’ll have to bring your swimsuit. If the weather is nice, we can enjoy the pool…”  
“Oh. Nice…” 

They seal their agreement with a very passionate kiss, during which Emmanuel provokes Justin with a gentle bite on his lower lip.   
“Trying to prove something ?” asks the Canadian touching his lip with the tip of his finger   
“Would that bother you ?” replies Emmanuel mimicking the question that Justin asked him minutes ago   
“You are… you are playing naughty Emmanuel… What were you trying to prove ?” 

Justin trapped Emmanuel’s chin between his fingers, and the French is desperately trying to escape the questioning gaze that he is facing. These eyes will be the death of him. 

“Would you go further with me ?” finally sighs the French   
“Further ?” repeats Justin not quite sure to understand what is implied here 

A light blush comes to Emmanuel’s cheeks and Justin finds it adorable. He kisses him once more, and encourages him to talk. 

“I mean… kissing is good,” starts the French “but we can’t keep kissing like enamored teenagers forever, don’t you think ?” 

He refuses to look at Justin, knowing that he might face disappointment, bewilderment, or utter disgust on his friend’s face. 

“Do you mean… ?” 

Justin lets one of his hand slide from Emmanuel’s knee to his bum and the French nods imperceptibly. 

“Oh.” quietly exclaims the Canadian   
“We don’t have to if you don’t want, Justin. Nevermind, it was a silly idea anyway…” 

Emmanuel brushed it off completely, feeling stupid for even raising the idea. He probably drank too much wine at the Palace during dinner… The French escapes the touch of his partner, and crosses his arms on his chest. He looks through the window, to avoid eye-contact with Justin. He feels ashamed, stupid, and terribly sorry. Justin at first hesitates on how to react, but he quickly realizes that if he doesn’t act now, some deep misunderstanding will settle between them. 

“Emmanuel ?” he calls 

No answer. 

“Manu ? Can you please look at me ?” he sighs 

The French President turns to face him, but keeps out of touch for the moment. 

“Emmanuel,” says the Canadian “I am afraid there was some misunderstanding there. I want nothing more than having sex with you. I was simply surprised it came in the talks today…”   
“Can you repeat that ?”   
“Which part ? The part where I say I am surprised ? Or the part in which I admit that having sex with you would be a life accomplishment for me ?” 

A faint smile illuminates Emmanuel’s face and he leans forward to kiss Justin. The Canadian takes his face into his hands and kisses him with as much passion and resolution he can. He wants that. He desires Emmanuel. And the long-distance relationship they have had until this point is not enough anymore. 

“Do you really want it ?” asks the French President   
“Of course !” exclaims the Canadian in response “I want it ! I want you !” 

They laugh and keep kissing like teenagers. It is messy, and passionate, but doesn’t go further than that. The car is not a place to take their love to the next step, and none of them is ready to do it tonight anyway. But knowing that it will come in due time is a reassurance for both of them. 

“How could you imagine I didn’t want that ?” whispers Justin playing with the hair on the side of Emmanuel’s head “Nothing could make me happier…”   
“We are taking the cheating on a whole other level if we have sex together, Justin. Are you sure you want to take that risk ?”   
“Yes.” nods the Canadian “I want to take that risk.”   
“Talking about risks…” 

Once again Emmanuel falls silent. But this time Justin understood. 

“I am clean if that is what bothers you. I got checked for all sorts of possible STDs at my last bill of health. I got the all clear… But there are ways to stay safe if you are unsure…”   
“I will asked to be tested before you come to France. That way we’ll know.”  
“Good plan.” 

They smile and exchange a tender kiss. Justin then resumes : 

“There is something I need to know… Please don’t hate me for asking : have you ever done it before with a man ?”   
“A long time ago, yes.” chuckles Macron “And you ?”  
“A long time ago as well. When I was in college. You know, frat parties and all this…” 

Emmanuel frowns and gives an interrogative glance to his friend. 

“Frat parties ?” he asks   
“Oh I forgot you had a different college systems than ours. You know how wild student parties can be in France ?”  
“Of course.”  
“Take that, multiply it by six or seven, and you get how wild it can be in North-America…” 

They laugh and keep talking, their fingers intertwined on their knees.   
“So, you were a wild student ?” questions the French with a grin   
“Rebellious more than wild.” concedes Justin “I guess you on the contrary were more of a good working student ?”  
“Sort of,” explains Emmanuel “I met my wife very early on, so we were already more or less together while I was studying… Although she gave me plenty of freedom, my love for her was already too strong for me to really let go of myself… It may sound a bit cheesy, but I adored her then, and I still do, but she knew, back then, that I also needed to experiment on my sexuality. I am bisexual, I have always been, and Brigitte always knew and understood I was…”   
“And despite having double the concurrence, she still managed to get you !” jokes Justin “She is a clever woman.”   
“She likes you very much. And I think she is troubled, just like myself, by your charisma…”   
“I tend to have that effect on everyone.” 

Justin proudly smiles and adds : 

“You should have seen Melania Trump batting her eyelashes at me when I told her her dress was beautiful… Donald nearly choke on his diet coke !” 

This time both of them start to laugh more than necessary. They are still laughing when the car stops in front of Emmanuel’s hotel. 

“Already ?” frowns Justin checking his wristwatch “Time flies when we are together…”   
“The good point is that we are having lunch together tomorrow…”   
“True.” 

Emmanuel steals a last kiss from Justin just before the Canadian presses the button to get the separating screen down with the front of the car. 

“What are you going to tell your wife we talked about ?”  
“Syria. I always use Syria as an excuse when I don’t want to talk much about sensitive matters…”   
“I will probably keep that idea in mind.”   
“You text me the time and meeting point for tomorrow ?”   
“For sure…” 

The Canadian smiles and they hug each other one last time before separating ways. Emmanuel struggles not to look back at the car driving away, but he manages to keep his eyes in front of him, and not behind. He arranges his hair, collar and jacket with the reflection in the glass door of the hotel and enters to meet his wife. In the car, Justin is lost in his thoughts. he got three missed calls from his wife, but he doesn’t feel like calling her back right away. He needs time to process all that has happened with Emmanuel. All the good things that have happened. If anyone told him, hours ago, before the reception at Buckingham that he would have spent half an hour snuggling with his secret lover in the back of a car, Justin would probably never have believed it. And yet it happened. And it was delightful. Justin, instinctively, brings his fingers to his lips, checking the spot Emmanuel bit earlier. He liked that wild gesture. It was possessive and raw, but proved a lot. 

“Sir ?” asks the bodyguard watching his boss in the rearview mirror “Everything good ?”   
“Yes.” nods Justin drawn out of his daydreaming “All good.” 

He smiles and decides on calling Sophie back while he is brought back to his hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think about this chapter ?   
> What do you think will happen in the coming chapters ? 
> 
> Let me know !!!!


	8. April 15th 2018 - Paris/Brégançon, France - Forbidden fruit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.  
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 8 : Meet me by the water - Rachel Yamagata
> 
> \---- 
> 
> For those who might not know two quick notes : Fort of Brégançon is the summer residence of the French Presidents, and the creation of a pool there made the front page of nearly EVERY magazine here in France. So yes, this was a big deal.

Justin rearranges his hair nervously, and takes a deep breath. He checks his phone : no texts, no calls. He puts it back in the inside pocket of his jacket. He feels slightly nervous, and that is not in his habit to not be completely in control. He opens the car door, and exits, a smile on his lips. Emmanuel and Brigitte were waiting on top of the stairs for their guest, but as soon as Emmanuel saw the door opening, he couldn't help but walk down the flight of steps to greet his friend. By reflex and habit, he extends his hand and Justin takes it but he pulls him into a friendly and warm hug to greet him. 

“Good to see you !” exclaims the North-American.

“Nice to see you too.” smiles Emmanuel in response. 

They pull out of their embrace, and still smiling broadly they keep shaking hands for the photographs that are present. They need no words, but know what they are feeling deep inside of them. They then join Brigitte on the porch, and Justin kisses her on both cheeks. 

“A delight to see you again, Brigitte.” he says “Thanks for receiving me here.” 

“It is a shared pleasure,” she says “but a pity that we don’t get to meet your wife once again.” 

“Next time for sure.” laughs Justin “She’s a very busy woman. Sometimes I wonder who is the busiest of us both.” 

They laugh and pose for the photographs before entering into the palace. They will have an informal lunch together, before an afternoon of work for the two men, and a state dinner. Tomorrow morning Justin will address the National Assembly, and after that, Emmanuel and him will travel privately to the Fort of Bregancon, for a day out of work. Emmanuel insisted on taking his friend there, so they can spend some time out of the public eye, and far from Paris, where everything is so tense. Of course Brigitte will be coming with them, but still, they should manage to sneak out to kiss if they want. And much more maybe. Emmanuel counts on this trip to take the next step with his lover, if he gets the chance to do so. 

As they are walking to the dining-room, Brigitte and Justin talking together, the black dog of the Macron takes a sprint towards his master. Emmanuel squats down and opens his arms to welcome him. He pets the dog for a moment, under the amused gaze of his wife, and friend. 

“That must be Nemo, I presume ?” says Justin approaching his hand to pet the dog on the top of the head.

“That would be the one” replies the French President “Cheeky and playful as usual. And delighted to see new faces. Careful, he might lick your hand, if he finds liking in…” 

Emmanuel doesn’t have time to finish his sentence that the dog licks Justin’s hand, from the tip of his fingers to his wrist. 

“Well, at least he likes you.” laughs Brigitte “Bathroom is down the hall, to wash your hands before lunch.” 

“Thanks” laughs the Canadian.

One hour and a half later, the two men come out of their lunch to go to work, and as they pass into the next room, their hands brush against each other and they exchange a glance that means a lot to them. Brigitte left them, and Emmanuel leads the way to his office. On the way there, Justin grins seeing the shiny piano in the hall. Emmanuel catches a glimpse of that smile and he stops mid-way through a step. 

“You want me to play, don’t you ?” 

“I’d love to see that, yes. But is it really reasonable ?”

“Nothing is unreasonable here. And we need a minute to cool down before the meeting.” 

Emmanuel draws the stool and sits on it. Justin leans against the wall, his eyes on him. The French President stretches his fingers, opens the lid of the piano and starts playing. The agility with which he plays is mesmerizing, and the Canadian can’t take his eyes off of the fingers that dance on the keys. At the end of the tune, Emmanuel stops and turns to his friend : 

“Satisfied ?” 

“It was amazing.” nods Justin “To see you live I mean. It feels strangely mechanical on video…” 

Emmanuel laughs and after carefully checking that no one can see them he places both his hands flat on his friend's chest to push him in his office, just behind. He is about to close the door when he sees Justin slip through his fingers, and the Canadian clears his throat. Emmanuel turns around and steps aside to greet his Prime Minister who arrived early. 

“Always right on point…” he says shaking hands with him “You have met Justin before, right ?”

“Of course, a pleasure to see you in France, Mister Trudeau.” 

Justin and Edouard Philippe shake hands and Emmanuel steps around his desk to take his seat, inviting both men to grab a chair in front of him. He feels frustrated to not even had time to kiss Justin, but it’ll come, for sure, in due time. 

“I have the feeling I interrupted something” says Edouard Philippe looking at both men in turns, and adjusting his glasses on his nose “Did I ?”

“No, don’t worry, we were just…” starts Emmanuel 

“Emmanuel was playing the piano” brushes off Justin “You didn’t interrupt anything. What is the plan for this afternoon ? One hour the three of us, and then a meeting with the rest of the government, right ?” 

“Right.” says Emmanuel opening his notepad to get to work 

He completely dismissed the inappropriate thoughts he had about Justin, and feels ready to dive into important matters. Justin has opened a file on his knees, and retrieved a pen in his pocket. Back to business it is. 

Later that evening, Emmanuel meets back with his wife into their private apartments. The state dinner is in an hour and a half and he is dying to take a long and hot shower. His afternoon was extremely productive, but infuriating in some way, as he did not get to touch or kiss Justin. He didn’t manage to corner him at all, and the Canadian rushed back to his hotel to take a shower and change before coming back. The French President feels grumpy, and on edge, and Brigitte immediately notices something is wrong. 

“Everything alright, darling ?” she asks.

“Hmmmm” he absentmindedly nods.

“Come on, I can see something is displeasing you…” 

“I’m just tired,” he explains “I’m going to take a shower. I’ll feel better after. What are you wearing tonight ?”

“I haven’t decided yet, I was counting on you to help, but given your state of mind, this might be a not so good decision.” 

Emmanuel takes her hand and brings it to his lips. 

“Show me before I go wash myself. I want to help…” 

They both go to their bedroom, and she shows him the two dresses she selected : one black, short, elegant, but ravishing, the other one red, more classical, but with a deeper neckline. Emmanuel loves both, but the black one will be much more appropriate for this evening. 

“The black one.” he says “You look extraordinary in it !” 

“No I don’t.” she argues.

“Oh, trust me, you do…” 

She smiles, and he takes her by the waist to kiss her on the lips. 

“And pull your hair up, I love when you pull your hair up.” adds her husband before vanishing into the bathroom. 

Emmanuel and Brigitte come back down an hour later to greet their first guests. The government is invited of course, alongside some influential CEOs, charities, and people that have links and ties with Canada. Around a hundred people will be present. But Emmanuel will only have eyes for Justin. And his wife. Most of the people that Emmanuel personally invited expressed how delighted they were to be meeting the Canadian Prime Minister, and how interesting he seemed to be. Which Emmanuel translated as ‘handsome’ for most of them. Brigitte looks stunning in her dress, and Emmanuel doesn’t let go of her hand. She helps him get anchored in reality. His heart skips a beat when Justin arrives, in the flow of guests coming through the door. He is wearing a dark blue suit, with a white shirt, a silver tie, and Emmanuel notices he is also wearing the socks he offered him for Christmas. The Canadian waves at them as he immediately gets carried away into greeting people, the first of them being the Canadian ambassador. Hopefully, Justin will be seated next to Emmanuel for dinner, and they will get the chance to talk. Brigitte apologizes to her husband and goes greet some patron of charities she knows. 

“He really is the man of the evening” says the sharp but warm voice of Edouard Philippe just behind Emmanuel.

His friend also placed his hand in the lower back of the French President, to tease him, and grab his attention, and it worked. Edouard hands him a drink over his shoulder and removes his hand, adding nonetheless : 

“You couldn’t take your eyes off of him this afternoon, is there something I should know ?”

“How many drinks did you had before coming back here ?” replies the French President to his Prime Minister and friend “You sound a lot naughtier than before.” 

“I may have had a whisky at home. Although my wife said it wasn’t a good idea…” 

“She was probably right. But to be fair, no one can take their eyes off Justin tonight. look around you…” 

Edouard takes a look, while sipping on his drink at the same time. And then he nods. 

“I know. But I also know you. Should I be worried ?”

“Come on Edouard, don’t be silly !” jokes the President on edge nonetheless “What would you want to happen ? He is straight and married. And I am… well, I am married…” 

They laugh and Edouard Philippe goes to see another Minister, leaving the President alone with his thoughts. That was so close. Emmanuel needs to be careful. Really careful. Passing by him, Justin winks at his best friend, and they smile at each other. Emmanuel bites his lip. He still wants to kiss Justin. He feels it deep in his guts, he needs it. But for now it is impossible. They all move to the dinner table, and the butlers show the people to their seats. Emmanuel catches an unsurprised glance from his Prime Minister when he sits down next to Justin, and the Canadian leans towards him whispering : 

“Does Edouard Philippe holds a grudge against me ? I feel strangely observed…” 

“He is watching me, not you.” answers Emmanuel “Which is in some way worse. But please don’t hate him for that.” 

“I don’t. I like him. He is sensible and very hard-working. Unmarried though ?”

“He’s married. But she doesn’t get involved in his public life.” explains Emmanuel “I know it’s…”

“Clever” whispers Justin nodding. 

Emmanuel was about to say ‘weird’ but he does not want to get in a fight with his lover just right now. Brigitte arrives just then, taking her seat next to her husband. Justin leans deeper over the table, placing his hand discreetly on Emmanuel’s knee under the table in the process and says to her : 

“I didn’t get the chance to say that to you earlier Brigitte, but you really look stunning in your dress tonight.” 

“Thank you, Justin.” she answers blushing slightly “It is very kind of you to say so” 

“I am only telling the truth.” he adds. 

And caressing your husband’s thigh, he adds for himself as he removes his hand from Emmanuel’s trouser. King of teasing, as always. Emmanuel tries to not look much at him, and not let his mind wander in uncharted territories. Instead, he takes Brigitte’s hand, on the table, a display of affection visible for everyone to see. Justin gets the message and straightens up on his seat, distancing himself as much as possible from Emmanuel, and completely ignoring him for the first part of the dinner. Which pisses off Emmanuel. And amuses Justin a lot. If Emmanuel is jealous, it means he cares. Maybe more than they both thought… During the rest of the dinner, Justin make efforts to also chat with his lover, trying not to drown in the blue eyes of the French President. It lasts for most of the night, and Emmanuel sighs when there are only a handful of guests left, including Justin, talking with someone further away. 

“Would it be okay if I left now ?” asks Brigitte to her husband “I am exhausted.” 

“Of course, darling.” he smiles at her “Go to bed. I’ll join you when I can.” 

“Take your time.” 

They exchange a chaste kiss on the lips and she leaves for their private apartments. Emmanuel keeps his eyes on her for as long as he can see her walking down the hall, and he doesn’t see Justin approaching. 

“She looks amazing.” comments the Canadian to his friend.

“She does.” nods Macron with a smile “You don’t look bad either” he adds with a grin. 

“Thanks Manu” smirks Justin in return. 

Emmanuel can’t help but look at the lips of his friend, so close, but unreachable. He want to touch them, he wants to caress them, he wants to kiss them. It is mesmerizing, and he is unable to think about anything else right now. 

“Emmanuel, you are staring right now.” indicates Trudeau clearing his throat “People are going to talk.”

“Sorry.” says the man shaking his head to dismiss all the things going through his head. “You’d better get going, you need to sleep, you have a very important speech to deliver tomorrow.” 

“Are you sending me away ?” 

Justin crosses his arms on his chest and arches an eyebrow. He really thought his friend had other plans for them tonight. He had other plans for them in his mind. 

“I think it’s better if you do go back to your hotel now, Justin.” 

This time the Canadian Prime Minister frowns. What is going on through Emmanuel’s mind ? What happened ? Why is he pushing him away when instead he should be inviting him in his office or private apartments ? Is it because of Brigitte ? is Emmanuel having second thoughts ? There are so many questions that Justin wished he could ask, but the closed face he has in front of him discourages him to do so. 

“Are you sure of that ? If I get up from that seat, I won’t see you before tomorrow afternoon.” 

That sounded almost like a threat, and Emmanuel nods. Justin is lost and confused. They haven’t kissed. Why didn’t his partner found a way to corner him somewhere to at least get a taste of his lips before he leaves ? There are less than ten people in the room, and if both of them left right now, no one would even notice. 

“Fine. Good night then.” says Justin ready to leave.

“Look at your phone, you dumbass” grunts Emmanuel. 

Talk about mixed signals ! Justin pulls his phone out of his pocket and laughs at the text he got from his friend. 

**_Meet me in the bathroom in five minutes. Don’t tell anyone, don’t let anyone know where you are going…_ **

Clever. Justin shakes hands with Emmanuel as if he was leaving and heads for the exit of the room. He shakes hands with the other people still present and leaves. He closes the button of his jacket and heads straight towards the bathroom at the end of the corridor. Thank God he has a good sense of orientation. He hears footsteps behind him, softened by the carpeted floor, but he doesn't turn around. Emmanuel pushes him inside the bathroom, and after making sure no one else is inside, he locks the door behind them and takes his lover’s face in his hands. 

“I waited all day long for this…” murmurs the French “How could I wait so long ?”

“Why are you still waiting then ?” cheekily replies the Canadian pressing his lips against the eager mouth of his friend.

“Hmmm God” moans Emmanuel “I missed that…” 

Justin’s hand find its way on the back of Emmanuel’s head, playing with the strands of hair he finds there, the other one positioned in Emmanuel’s lower back, keeping them both pressed against the wall. They keep kissing like teenagers, their lips dancing togethers, their tongues exploring each other’s mouths. Justin’s hands travels lower on Emmanuel’s body but the President catches it and brings it back where it was. 

“Let’s keep things… civilized for tonight. You need to leave soon, and I don’t want to have sex with you in a bathroom, however luxurious it might be…” 

“Fine with me.” agrees Justin “Although I have to admit that your suit is underlining your arse perfectly…” 

“Naughty boy !” 

They laugh and exchange one more kiss. They stop, stay in each other’s arms, foreheads touching, and keep chatting : 

“I am sorry for sending mixed signals earlier,” apologizes Emmanuel “I saw that you were confused, but there was someone from the staff looking at us and I wasn’t sure he wouldn’t talk.” 

“I understand. But you got me worried… Slightly.” 

“Sorry. How are you feeling about tomorrow ?”

“Nervous” replies Justin “Will you be there ?”

“Unfortunately I won’t. But I’ll be watching you, be sure of that. Do you want me to get a look at your speech ?” 

“It’s a bit late for that, don’t you think ?” 

“Send it to me when you get back to your hotel, and you’ll have it back tomorrow morning when you wake up.” 

“Emmanuel. You need to sleep…” 

“Please. Send me your speech.”

“I’ll do.” 

“Thanks, Justin. Now kiss me again, before I’ll let you go.” 

An hour later, in the now empty and silent Palace, Emmanuel is working at his desk, in the dark, with only a desk light turned on. He is reading Justin’s speech, the one his lover is supposed to give in front of the Parliament in the morning. It is very very good, and Emmanuel is simply adding a few comments in the margins of the documents. Nothing much, but a few vocabulary insights mainly. He sends the document back to Justin, thinking about the man, probably sound asleep in his hotel bed at the moment. Emmanuel blinks, checks his watch and realizes it is nearly four in the morning already. He’d better go to bed. He shuts down his laptop, turns off the light and goes to his bedroom. He strips down in silence, and checks his phone one last time before hopping into bed with his wife. Justin answered him already. 

**_Thanks for the speech. Now, for God’s sake, please, Manu, go to bed. See you tomorrow._ **

Emmanuel doesn’t like knowing that Justin isn’t sleeping, but he puts his phone away and lies down next to Brigitte. She senses his presence and turns to pass an arm around his chest. 

“What time is it ?” she asks half-asleep 

“You don’t want to know.” he answers “Keep sleeping. I’m here know” 

He kisses her on the forehead and she mumbles : 

“You smell weird…” 

But she falls asleep again and Emmanuel shortly after, but not before reviewing all the possible reasons on why she might have said that. 

As usual, the following day, Emmanuel nearly gets time to have lunch between meetings, but he manages to squeeze a twenty minutes break in his hectic schedule, to go and see his wife. She his working in her own office, and he surprise her by bringing two full lunches for them. 

“Lunch in the office ?” she exclaims “To what do I owe the honour ?” 

“I wanted to make sure you were ready for our little trip tonight, and that you finished packing…” 

“Oh.” she says “I am not coming.” 

Emmanuel unpacks the two boxes of sushi he ordered for their lunch before asking : 

“What do you mean by you are not coming ?”

“That I am not coming.” she laughs “Nothing less, nothing more. I still have work to do here, and you guys will be just fine on your own, won’t you ?”

“I mean… Yes, but the whole point of it was…” starts Emmanuel between two sushi. 

“For Justin and you to hang out and have a great time together.” cuts Brigitte “And you certainly don’t need me for that.” 

“Are you sure you don’t mind me leaving for a couple of days ?” questions her husband. 

“Of course not, darling.” she smiles at him “Do what you have to do. And call me when you arrive. By the way, did you pack your swimsuit ? And your sunglasses ? They are forecasting a nice weather for the rest of the week…” 

“I know. I was counting on it. Drawing Justin out of his cold Canadian comfort zone for a while. I’m so glad we had a swimming pool built there.” 

“A nice idea indeed. How many security officers are you taking with you ?” 

“Two or three. Justin’s got two with him I believe.”

“At what time will you be leaving ?” 

“The plane is scheduled to take off at five.” explains the President who has finished his main course and is now eating a cookie for dessert “Justin will meet me there. He has a series of meetings this afternoon.”

“Have you seen his speech from this morning ?” 

Emmanuel nods. Of course he has seen it. Twice. Once for the speech, and another time for the sole purpose of admiring Justin. The Canadian Prime Minister did a really good job and Emmanuel noticed he took into account some of the advice he wrote down for him in the middle of the night. Emmanuel glances at the clock on the wall behind his wife. He has to be back at his office in less than five minutes for a very important call. 

“Let me guess,” says his wife catching him glancing at the time “Break time is over ?”

“Unfortunately yes. I’ll come back before I leave. We must have lunch together more often…” 

“Whenever !” she says as he already disappears through the door “Love you too !” she adds more to herself than for anyone else.

Time flies by in the afternoon, and Emmanuel barely gets the time to kiss his wife goodbye before being hurried into his car by his team in order not to be late. Of course the presidential plane will not leave without him, but still, the President doesn’t want to be late. Especially since he will be alone with Justin. He packed a light travelbag with the essentials for an overnight, and a briefcase with a couple of files to work on during the flight, just in case, and a very personal file in the inside pocket. One that Justin needs to read. He changed for more comfortable clothes : a pair of dark blue jeans, a black polo shirt and a university hooded jacket. He completed with a pair of trendy sneakers. His sunglasses are stuck in the collar of his shirt, and he briefs his team on the tarmac of the airport : 

“I want you to make yourselves transparent this weekend. If everything goes well, the Prime Minister and I should not have to go out of the residence, except for dinner, maybe, so you can keep an eye on the outside. I want no one in. In the plane, as usual, you have the rear part of the cabin, Justin and I will have the front. Questions ?”

“No, Sir.” answer the two men in front of him.

“Good then.” 

Emmanuel climbs the stairs to the plane and walks towards the private part of the plane. his officers stay behind. He drops his bag below his seat, and zips his jacket halfway-up before letting himself down in his seat. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and places it on the table in front of him. An admirative whistle echoes behind him and he turns to greet Justin. 

“Nice one !” exclaims the Canadian doing more or less the same routine as his friend. 

He didn’t get the chance to change, and he is still wearing his suit, he removes the jacket, hanging it on the back of his seat. He removes the tie, shoves it in his pocket, and loosens the collar of his shirt. 

“Better.” mutters Emmanuel to his friend.

They both shake hands with the captain who climbed on board to join his cabin, and Justin finally sits in front of his friend. 

“I watched your speech, Justin…” says Emmanuel “It was excellent.” 

“Thank you. It was not. But thanks for flattering me. And thanks for your help last night. Do you mind me asking how many hours of sleep you got ?”

“Three.” says Emmanuel.

“And how are you feeling right now ?” 

“Okay. I’m used to it.”

“Where is Brigitte by the way ?”

“She changed her mind about coming with us.” sighs the French President.

“Any particular reason for it ?” asks the Canadian with concern.

“She’s got work to do. And being stuck a whole day with her husband and her husband’s best mate wasn’t the most enjoyable perspective for her… I guess.” 

“Best mate ?” 

Justin laughs as the plan lifts off from the ground. 

“How much flight time ?” asks the PM 

“One hour and twelve minutes, precisely.” answers the French President. 

“Do you mind if I work in the meantime ?”

“I don’t.” 

Emmanuel settles more comfortably into his seat, and Justin grabs a pile of contracts from his briefcase. He also pulls out a pair of glasses and shamefully adjusts them on his nose. Emmanuel looks at him with surprise and the Canadian shrugs. 

“Only when I’m tired.” he explains “And jetlag is killing me.” 

“That’s why you weren’t sleeping last night !” exclaims the French “I should have known.” 

“You should have asked.” answers the man with a tiny bit of sarcasm. 

Emmanuel frowns but does not answer. He probably could have asked. 

“Oh. Before I forget…” he suddenly says opening his own briefcase.

He retrieves the personal file he put inside earlier and slides it on the table between them towards Justin. 

“What’s this ?” asks Justin 

“My tests results…” 

“Your… OOOH !” 

Justin laughs and glances at the paper. 

“I’ll have a look at it.” he says “After, all of this.” 

He gestures at the pile of contracts he has to proofread and sign and Emmanuel nods. The French President makes himself comfortable on the seat and before Justin can add anything, he has drifted off to sleep. So much for a man who doesn’t need to sleep ! Justin laughs and keeps working for the rest of the flight. He doesn’t look at Emmanuel’s bill of health. If nothing is wrong, then he trusts his friend. There is absolutely no reason not to. 

“Emmanuel ?” asks Justin noticing the plane lowering in the sky “Emmanuel ?” 

Justin takes his friend’s hand and shakes him gently to wake him up. Emmanuel opens his eyes, completely disoriented. 

“Hey. I’m here.” says the Canadian “You fell asleep in the plane, but I think we’re approaching landing.” 

“I… fell asleep ?” reacts the President passing a hand through his hair.

“As soon as you settled on your seat. Which is somehow cute.” 

Justin grins and Emmanuel notices their fingers are still intertwined. His thumb strokes the back of Justin’s hand, and they smile at each other. Justin removes his glasses and drops them on Emmanuel’s tests results. 

“Did you read them ?” asks the French 

“No.” answers Justin shaking his head “I trust you. If you are telling me you’re clean, then I trust you.” 

“I am clean. But I packed condoms, just in case we want to be extra-safe.” 

They both burst into laughter, and it helps them a lot sharing this moment together. The captain of the plane informs them, through speaker, that they are going to land soon, and that they should buckle their seatbelts. As they do so, they have to let go of each other's hand, but as soon as it’s done, they reach for each other once more. 

“The pool at Bregançon,” explains Emmanuel “is brand new, and if you are not too frightened by cold water, we might be the first ones to try it.” 

“I’d be delighted. And I live in Canada Emmanuel, you have no idea of what cold even means. Get that back in your briefcase, you don’t want it to fall into the wrong hands.” 

Justin pushes the tests results back to Emmanuel, and both men gather their papers and put them back where they belong. 

“What’s the plan for tonight ?” asks Justin 

“We land, and go by car to the residence. There it will be just you and me, security stays at the door. No staff, no one to bother us…” 

“Beside our wives” says Justin tapping on the pocket in which he has his cellphone “But please go ahead, I’ll find a moment to call Sophie, or she will bugger us all evening.” 

“Once there, we’ll order something to eat, you choose, I don’t mind. If the air is not too chilly, I asked the pool to be heated prior to our arrival so I thought we might take a swim in the evening… And then…” 

He pauses. There is no words to express what he’d like to say next. But Justin understood. 

“I like your program. But I have two little amendments to make : I really have to phone my wife, once we are settled there, and you should probably let Brigitte know we are there as well.” 

“Right, she told me to let her know… What is the second thing ?”

“I need a shower, and to change clothes, I stink, and I feel a little bit overdressed.” 

“I understand. You will have all the time that you need…” 

They both look through the window when the plane lands and they have to let go of the other’s hand to gather their belongings and ready to leave. Their security officers are already waiting for them, and Emmanuel leads the way out of the plane. He arranged for two cars to wait for them, one for them with a security officer and one with the rest of their team. They load the trunk of the car with their travel bags and board the car. One of Emmanuel’s officer climbs aboard with them, keeping them from kissing or touching. Justin frowns and pulls his phone from his pocket. 

“You see, I told you she’d call,” he says to his friend showing her the picture of him and his wife that popped up on his screen indicating an incoming call “do you mind if I take it ?” 

“Please do.” 

“Hi Soph’ !” exclaims Justin when he picks up the call “I was about to call you.” 

“Were you really ?”

“Yes. We just arrived in the South of France. I’m off duty now, and it feels good.” 

“How are you ?” 

“I’m a bit tired, but it feels good to be in France, and to spend time with my best friend. How are you ? And the kids ?”

“We’re good.” she replies “The kids just got back to school, they miss you.” 

“I miss them too, but I’ll be home soon.” 

Justin smiles. His kids are the greatest treasure of his life. And even though he spoke to Sophie in English, Emmanuel overheard and understood, and he is smiling at him. The French President tries not to listen to Justin’s conversation, but in the closed car it is a really difficult thing to do. Hopefully, they are soon arriving. Justin is still on the phone, and Emmanuel grabs both their travel bags to enter inside the property. By habit their bodyguards are ready to follow them but both of them turn around and frown at them so they stay at the door. Justin finally hangs up with his wife halfway to the entrance door of the house, and Emmanuel says to him : 

“There is something I haven’t dared asking yet… but I need to know… Should we sleep in separate bedrooms ?” 

He blushed and refuses to look at his friend. This bothered him during the whole ride up there and he finally managed to open up about it. Justin wants to put a hand on his cheek, but Emmanuel escapes this contact. 

“Not here. There is someone waiting for us inside the house. Then we will truly be alone…” 

“Can I reserve my answer until we are alone, then ?”

“Okay.” 

Justin discharges his friend from his travel bag and they enter in the house. There a butler, who has been put in charge by Emmanuel to open and prepare the house, welcomes them in. 

“Always a pleasure to serve you, Sir” he says shaking hands with the French President “And to receive honoured guests in the house.” he adds greeting Justin “I will be in the village, as usual, let me know if you need anything. The pool is ready, the bedrooms are ready, there is a bit of food in the fridge, in case any of you feels incline to cook anything…” 

“Thank you, Martin.” says Emmanuel “Thank you so much.”

The man leaves, giving the keys to Emmanuel on his way out, and as soon as he has left, Justin drops his travel bag on the floor and takes Emmanuel by the waist. He closes the distance between their bodies and says : 

“What do you want ? Do you want us to share a bed ? That is a pretty intimate thing to do…”

“I asked you the question,” protests Emmanuel “but nothing would please me more than sleeping with you.” 

“Deal. You give me a tour of the house ?” 

Emmanuel shows him around, and they finish by the master bedroom. There is a bathroom next to it, and Justin will get the chance to take that shower he is dying to take. They both put their travel bags next to the bed and Emmanuel says : 

“I am going downstairs, I’ll wait for you inside, or by the pool… Take your time…” 

“Can I get a kiss first ?” 

“Greedy boy !” 

Emmanuel laughs but he wraps his arms around Justin’s neck and kisses him with passion. Here they can be truly themselves, without any fear, without any judgement. No one will see them, and they can live their love at the fullest. 

“Are you wearing your swimsuit already, or will you bathe naked ?” questions the Canadian 

“What do you prefer ?”

“I won’t be able to focus on anything if you are naked Manu’... But it will eventually come to it at one point in the evening… I hope…” 

“Before I let you go shower, naughty Prime Minister, what do you want to eat ?”

“Pizzas ? Beers ?”

“Deal. I’ll order while you take your shower…” 

They exchange one last kiss and part ways. Emmanuel goes back downstairs in the kitchen and orders pizzas with the encrypted landline. He omits to mention his name, but the employee taking his order nearly chokes when he gives the delivery address. 

“You’ll leave it to one of the officers outside. Thanks. Mhh.. Talking about that, add a semi-dozen of pizzas to that order, for our men outside, thanks.” 

Emmanuel hangs up and looks for beers in the fridge. He grabs a couple and gets outside at the back of the house. There he gets rid of his shoes and walks to the swimming pool. This sight is pleasing him very much, given the cost, and time invested in the project. Of course he’d rather swim in the sea nearby, but that is a nightmare security-wise. He places the beers on the floor. Removes his socks, folds his jeans legs up and, sitting on the edge of the pool, he puts his feet in the water. It’s warm and refreshing at the same time and a satisfied moan escape his lips as he does so. He takes his phone in his jeans pocket and sends a text to his wife, letting her know they are well arrived and settled. She answers him less than two minutes later asking him if he dived in the swimming-pool already. He laughs and answers that it will be done in no time. Emmanuel sends the text and puts his phone away, with his shoes, and socks. Justin appears through the bay-window at that exact time. The Canadian is wearing black board-shorts, a outrageously white t-shirt with an embroidered canadian maple leaf on the chest, and an open grey hooded university jacket. Emmanuel can’t take his eyes off of him, and he must have his mouth wide open because Justin kneels down in front of him and lifts his lower jaw with two fingers. 

“Don’t stare at me like that. Please. You are making me uncomfortable. That is the real me, you better get used to it. The suit up me is nice, but I feel much better dressed like that…” 

The Canadian sits on the right side of Emmanuel, and he puts his feet in the water as well. His hand is on Emmanuel’s on the edge of the pool, and they smile at each other. 

“You look incredible, Justin.” finally manages to blurt out the French President. 

“You don’t look bad either,” chuckles Justin “Let’s play a game : I am really wondering what your swimsuit looks like, and I’m going to try and guess. Only answer by yes or no, okay ?” 

“What do I have to win in this ?” 

“Me undressing you, to check if my guess was correct.” whispers Justin in Emmanuel’s ear before planting a kiss just below his ear. 

It makes the President blush and he nods. Justin wants to play ? Fine. But before… Emmanuel opens the beer bottles and they cheer, taking a long sip of it. 

“Alright…” starts Justin evaluating his friend from head to toes “I don’t think you are a board shorts kind of guy… and if I remember correctly you don’t particularly surf… so… my first guess : it is not board shorts.”

“Correct.” 

“You are neither a briefs type of guy.” adds Justin “Second guess : you are wearing swim trunks…” 

“Correct again…” 

Emmanuel is grinning from ear to ear. This game is pleasing him a lot. And what is pleasing him more, is the wet hair of the Canadian, messy and undisciplined, much to Justin’s despair. Emmanuel can’t help but run his fingers through them, and he hears Justin sigh. 

“Do you want me to stop ?”

“No, it’s fine. Don’t stop !”

“Okay. Keep focused on my swimwear in the meantime…” 

“I’d guess the colour is blue.” tries Justin. 

“How do you know ?” frowns Emmanuel. 

Justin traces along the waistband of the trunks visible above the man’s jeans, making Emmanuel shiver. 

“And you are a cheater.” notes Emmanuel with a smile “Any guesses on plain or pattern ?”

The Canadian is about to answer when Emmanuel’s phone starts ringing. The President rolls his eyes and takes it, answering it sharply. 

“Emmanuel speaking.” 

“Sir, we have a pizza delivery at the door.” 

“Oh. I’m coming. I’ll be there in two minutes. Thanks.”

It was one of his trusted security officers. Emmanuel hangs up and tells his friend : 

“I have to go get our dinner. Wait for me here.” 

“Where would you want me to go, anyway ?” 

They laugh and exchange a sweet kiss. Emmanuel simply takes his phone, and grabs his wallet in the hall of the house on his way to the entrance of the property. He stayed barefoot, and hopes the person delivering the pizzas won’t tell the whole city he is here. He pays for the delivery, grabs the two pizzas he ordered for Justin and him and leaves the rest for the officers guarding the doors, wishing them a good evening. He goes back inside, and finds Justin lying on the side of the pool, his feet still in the water, his jacket rolled under his head as a pillow. 

“Patterned !” he said turning his head towards Emmanuel “I’d bet money on that.” 

Emmanuel doesn’t answer. He froze and nearly tripped on the threshold of the bay-window when he noticed the massive tattoo on Justin’s shoulder. He can’t see it fully, because of the sleeve of his t-shirt, but he can guess that the drawing is quite huge. 

“Emmanuel ?” 

Justin noticed the bewildered look and he rises up on his elbows to look at his lover. He feels a bit worried to see Emmanuel unable to take a step more. He finally decides on getting up and he joins his friend on the threshold of the house, removing the pizza boxes from Emmanuel’s hand, and placing them on the outside table. 

“Are you alright ?” he asks taking his friend’s face gently in his hands “Talk to me. Say something. Please.”

Emmanuel doesn’t speak. Instead he reaches for the left arm of his partner and lifts up the t-shirt sleeve. 

“Oh.” smiles Justin “The tattoo. Of course. I should have seen that coming…” 

Emmanuel is fascinated, but still silent. How could he never have noticed it before on the pictures he has seen of Justin ? Why did his friend never mentioned it ? That is a pretty big deal for a head of state… 

“Are you going to stay mute for the rest of the evening, Emmanuel ?” 

“Sorry. I’m in shock I guess.” 

“If you come back to the pool with me, we can eat pizzas, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

“All about it ? No more secrets ?”

“No more secrets.”

Justin understands that more than the tattoo in itself it is the secret surrounding it that shocked his friend. He should have told him. But he thought Emmanuel knew. It’s not really a secret after all. They go back by the pool and sit face to face, pizzas and beers between them. 

“I am going to remove my shirt Emmanuel, do you think you can handle that ?” questions the North-American 

The French President nods and Justin gets rid of his t-shirt revealing a toned chest, slightly tanned and completely hairless. Emmanuel bites his lower lip, trying to control the familiar heat growing in his lower belly. Now is not the time. Not yet. 

“Just so we are a bit more even…” says Justin leaning forward and unzipping Emmanuel’s jacket 

He slides it off the man’s shoulder and sends it away with his own clothes. 

“Better ?” asks the French 

“Better.” smiles Justin 

“Now, I want to know everything.” 

“Alright. First of all, that is the only one I have, so don’t worry, there will be no more surprises for you later in the evening.”

“A relief to know that.” 

As they are speaking, they share the two pizzas ordered by Emmanuel as their dinner. 

“I got the globe on my biceps when I was twenty-three, in Thailand. I was young, I was backpacking around the world, I was a bit lost with myself at the time, trying to give a sense to my life.” 

“Before, or after college ?”

“In between,” explains the Canadian “I took a sabbatical, as we say, I needed to see the world.”

“I understand. What about the eagle ?” 

“I got that for my 40th birthday. Sophie prompted the idea. I was much more at ease with myself, knowing who I was, and where I was heading to. And I wanted something meaningful for me… Do you remember the book I offered you for your birthday ? The one about Haida culture ?”

“Of course. I love it ! It’s been on my nightstand ever since.” 

“My father, he was Prime Minister some time before me, you remember ?” Justin keeps going when Emmanuel nods in response “My father, Pierre, has honorarily been adopted by this tribe. I have ties with them, I always felt close with this culture, and I wanted it inked in my skin. This design was made by one of their artists…” 

“Tattooed by him, you mean ?”

“Unfortunately not. But the general design is one of his masterpiece.” 

“Nice. I like it.”

Emmanuel approaches his fingers to trace the outline of the tattoo and Justin lets him do. The fingers barely touches the skin, but Justin’s arm is burning from this contact. He wants more. He wants to feel Emmanuel’s hands explore all of his body like this. 

“Anything else you want to know about me ?” asks Justin “Because now would be the time…” 

“What does your kids think of your tattoo ?” 

“Hadrien is still a bit young to fully understand, but he likes it. Ella-Grace, thinks I am some sort of badass superhero, and Xavier thinks I am the coolest dad ever.” 

“Are you ?”

“The coolest dad ever ? I try to be. When I’m home.” 

They finish eating their pizzas and set aside the empty boxes. Their beers are empty as well, and just when Emmanuel was about to propose to get some new ones, Justin gets on him, holding him by the hips, kissing him in the neck, relentlessly. 

“Now, it is time for me to see if I guessed right…” he whispers in his friend’s ear “Let me do, please.” 

Justin makes them both lie down, Emmanuel on his back, him on top, his knees firmly keeping the man in place. The French can’t stop gazing at the naked chest above him, and it starts to make him a lot hornier than he would like to. Justin is much more muscular than Emmanuel thought he would be, and that turns him on. Justin keeps kissing the exposed skin in his neck, playing with his hair with his free hand. When he gets tired of that, he lowers that hand to Emmanuel’s stomach, and introduces it under his polo shirt. Justin’s hands are large, warm and soft, and they blindly explore this new territory. 

“We really are opposites” grins the Canadian as his fingers get tangled in Emmanuel’s chest hairs “May I remove your shirt, Sir, to get a better look ?” 

“By all means, please proceed.” 

They laugh and Emmanuel helps Justin pull his shirt above his head. They are now both shirtless, and slightly ashamed. It feels weird and intimate at the same time. Justin explores, with the tip of his fingers, the exposed chest below him, tracing every curve, every line, every scar. He stops at one on Emmanuel’s ribs and frowns. 

“I crashed on a motorbike when I was sixteen, I broke a rib.” explains the man.

“What were you doing on a motorbike at sixteen ?”

“Long story. I’ll tell you another time.” 

“Fine. Now let me remove your jeans, so we can finally dive into that swimming pool together. I’ve been dying to get in since we arrived.” 

“Alright.” 

Emmanuel steals a kiss from his partner’s lips and adds : 

“By the way : you guessed correctly, it’s patterned.” 

Justin smiles and gets lower on his lover’s body. He carefully opens the fly of Emmanuel’s jeans and as he is about to pull it down his legs, he plants a soft kiss just above Emmanuel’s belly button, surprising the man and making him moan loudly. Justin finishes to get rid of the jeans, and admires the triangular patterned blue trunks of his lover, and he takes Emmanuel’s hand to help him get up. Once they are both on their feet, the French wraps an arm around Justin’s waist, his other hand lying flat between his pectoral muscles. Their bodies are pressed together, and both of them are ignoring, for now, the fact that their intimacies are growing, and that it is certainly already obvious to the other. They are looking at each other, saying with their eyes what they are not able to express through words. Emmanuel lets his fingers slip between the muscles of his friend.

“Do you shave ?”

“I don’t have to.” answers Justin “I never had hairs on my chest…” 

“Do you…” 

Emmanuel keeps the rest of his question pending. Maybe this is not yet the time to ask. 

“Do you want to know immediately, or do we keep that for later ?” asks Justin who understood this silent question. 

“Later.” sighs Emmanuel “I’m not sure to be ready for that just yet.” 

He escapes the loving arms of his partner and sits on the edge of the pool before letting himself slide in. The water is still warm, and it feels amazing. Emmanuel stays underwater for a couple of seconds before coming back to the surface, Justin is watching him, seated on the edge of the pool. 

“How does it feel ?” he asks. 

“Like the best investment I ever made.” answers the French “Come and join me.” 

Justin jumps in the water and joins his friend. Emmanuel’s hand slide on his stomach and positions in his back. The French grins and kisses Justin on the mouth. He then stops and they stay like that, their forehead pressed against each other, their lips millimeters apart. 

“I could kiss you all night, you know ?” says the Canadian.

“I know. But I have other plans for us tonight.”

“And what are those other plans ?” teases his friend. 

“It involves both of us getting naked… In a bed… Together…” 

Emmanuel kissed his friend between each part of his sentence, and it made Justin shiver. He wants it. But the French still seems to have some inhibitions to shake off before they get to it. 

“And how do you plan on getting me into your bed ?” asks Justin. 

“Willingly, I hope.” 

They laugh and Justin kisses Emmanuel once again.

“Of course.” he says softly “Of course.” 

His lips then travel from the mouth of his partner to his right ear, and then down his neck. He noticed that Emmanuel seems to particularly enjoy that. His neck seems to be a sensitive spot, a very sensitive one even. The French tilted his head on the side, to give a better access to his partner, and he closed his eyes, to better enjoy this incredible sensation. Justin’s lips are full and soft, but resolute, and Emmanuel loves the contact of them on his skin. Especially in his neck. 

“Is there any other part of your body where you like to be kissed like that ?” wonders the PM.

“Kissed or touched.” answers Emmanuel “My whole body is extremely sensitive.” 

“Good to know.” 

“What about you ?”

“I have two soft spots, if you find them, you can get anything of me, really. One is easily reachable, for the other one, you might have to wait until we’re in bed…” 

“Are you challenging me ?” 

“Maybe…” 

Justin smiles and Emmanuel takes him on his word. 

“Okay. My time to play. I am going to explore your whole body, as I want it, and you are going to tell me exactly how it feels. Tell me what you like, what you don’t like, and if you want me to stop.” 

“I will never want you to stop, Manu’. Please do, I’m all yours.” 

“I like when you say that.” answers Macron against the lips of his partner “Say it again.” 

“I’m all yours, Manu. All yours.” 

The French President grins and his hand finds its way to Justin’s left hip, that he caresses softly. He feels the man trying to escape that touch and interrogates him : 

“You don’t like it ?”

“It’s… I’m ticklish right there.” admits Justin “And your hands are really soft, so it doesn’t help.” 

“Ticklish on any other part of your body ?”

“The usual ones : armpits, back of the neck, ribs… My kids like to tease me with it all the time.” 

“Adorable.” 

Emmanuel kisses Justin on the lips, and he then travels, planting soft kisses along his jawline, making Justin groan slightly. He keeps going and ends up in Justin’s neck, one of his hand finding its way up to the back of his head. Emmanuel tries to mess up with the Canadian’s hair but Justin catches his hand and removes it. 

“Please don’t. You know how much I have complexes about my hair.” 

“Sorry, honey.” 

It slipped through the French’s lips and he realizes in horror as he sees the bewildered look Justin gives him. 

“Sorry. Too soon ?”

“Pretty late, actually.” answers Justin after a while “I just need to get used to it said by someone else than my wife…” 

“I understand.” 

Emmanuel keeps kissing the neck of his partner and he stands on tiptoes to kiss him behind the ear. 

“OH FUCK” swears Justin loudly. 

“Looks like I found your soft spot.” 

“Kiss me there again. Please.”

“And you are greedy !” chuckles the French President. 

Emmanuel presses his lips against the skin once more and this time Justin moans. It comes from the bottom of his soul, and Emmanuel keeps going in his exploration. He kisses him on the shoulders, asking the man how it feels. 

“Divine” is the answer he gets. 

“And this ?” asks Emmanuel grabbing the man’s butt with both his hands. 

“Exquisite” groans Justin in the middle of a moan. 

“I want to try something…” 

Justin frowns but he understand when he feels the teeth of his partner gently biting his flesh, on the upper part of his arm. 

“Oh Manu…” he sighs. 

“Too much ?” asks the French. 

“I’d have you biting my skin all day if I could, but please use your hands instead, you are driving me crazy.” 

Emmanuel keeps going in his exploration but this time he uses his hands, as requested. He turns around Justin and stands in his back, just behind him. He caresses the man’s back, with the tip of his fingers, tracing the lines of Justin’s muscles. 

“How does it feel ?”

“Good.” answers the Canadian. 

Emmanuel does it again, but with his fingernails, lightly. 

“And like that ?”

“Tempting,” grunts Justin “as long as you don’t mark my skin. If you scratch my back, you can as well find me a good lawyer for the divorce papers.” 

“Okay. No scratching. And no messing with your hair…” 

“Do you really want to mess with my hair ?” sighs Justin turning around to face Emmanuel 

“I’d love it.” 

“I guess I can live with it, then. Maybe...”

Emmanuel smiles but he leaves his partner’s hair alone for now, instead, he caresses the chest, and teases the nipples to see if that does anything. 

“Not like that.” says Justin. 

He takes Emmanuel’s hand in his and shows him how he likes to be teased there. The French learns, and replicates on the other one, proving to his teacher that he is indeed a good learner. 

“You are good at this…” says Justin “Very good…” 

He slides his hand down on Emmanuel’s body and he grabs his arse, pressing the man closer to him. 

“Impatient ?” asks Emmanuel. 

“A little bit. Eager to discover what is hiding underneath the fabric mostly.” 

Emmanuel takes one of Justin’s hand and places it inside his trunks, on the bare skin of his arse. The warm hand of his lover is exploring, caressing, discovering this very new territory. Emmanuel is shivering in his arms, from excitation mostly, but also from the cold, and Justin wonders if they wouldn’t be better in a bedroom than in the pool. 

“Manu, what about we keep going, but inside the house ?” 

“I’m good.” replies his lover “Just hold me closer.” 

“Brigitte is going to kill you if you get sick.” jokes Justin. 

It makes Emmanuel laugh and Justin removes his hand from the heaven it was discovering. Emmanuel pushes him to the side of the pool until Justin’s back rests against the edge of it. 

“I can feel that you want me Justin…” he says, blushing “And I’d like to explore a little bit, if you don’t mind…” 

“Let me loosen the waist.” 

Justin unties the cord of his boardshorts, loosening the waistband, allowing his lover to introduce a hand inside it. Before doing so, Emmanuel asks for final approval silently. Justin nods and the French does it. He is surprised to find curly hairs ornating this part of Justin’s anatomy and the Canadian is amused by his reaction. 

“All natural,” he says “it’s surprising I know.” 

“May I find something even more surprising in there ?”

“Depends. What are you expecting ?”

“What should I expect ?”

“Let’s simply say that Sophie had not walked straight for a couple of hours after our first night. And she still struggles to suck me properly. In all modesty…”

“In all modesty ?!” reacts Emmanuel. 

He raises an eyebrow and Justin bites his lower lip. What more can he say ? Emmanuel will see for himself. The French President goes deeper and his fingers grab the hardening cock of his partner. Justin sighs of pleasure. He awaited that touch for so long. Emmanuel’s hand is colder than the water, his fingers are long, and he discovers the length of the rod he is holding. 

“Wow.” is the only comment he can make. 

“Sorry.” apologizes Justin “I know this can be a bit surprising…” 

“This is a sweet promise, Justin. Although I am slightly afraid of what you might do to me…” 

“Who says I have to be the one to do you ?” replies the Canadian Prime Minister. 

“What do you prefer ?” 

“I don’t mind.” says Justin “Do you have a preference ?” 

“I am more of a top, it seems…” 

“Then you get to top.” 

They smile at each other and Emmanuel keeps discovering the long rod of his partner as they kiss languorously. 

“How about you ?” finally asks Justin 

“I can’t compare to you, but I don’t think I have anything to be ashamed of…” 

“Do you mind if I touch ?”

“Not at all.”

They giggle like teenagers and Emmanuel removes his hand from Justin’s intimacy and stands in front of him, his legs spread apart, so that the Canadian can explore at will. Justin starts by kissing Emmanuel, to keep him from thinking too much, as both his hands slide down his body. One stops on Emmanuel’s waist, holding him close, and the other one plays with the waistband of the swimming trunks for a while, teasing the impatient French as it does so. Emmanuel’s fingers come find Justin’s one under the water, and together, fingers intertwined, they dive inside the trunks of the President. Emmanuel guides his friend, showing him how he likes to be touched, how his hard cock likes to be teased. Above the surface, Justin is looking straight into Emmanuel’s eyes, once again communicating with him without using words. They don’t need to. They don’t want to. 

“Let’s go back inside…” whispers Justin after a while “Please.” 

Both of them are burning with desire, but still a little bit ashamed to admit it completely. They both have massive erections, ones they can’t hide, and coming out of the water makes Justin blush slightly. They gather their clothes, and pick up their phones to go back inside. In silence they go upstairs to the bedroom, and drop their belongings on the dresser. Then only, they start speaking again. Being there, in the bedroom makes it suddenly very real, and Emmanuel is starting to feel a bit hesitant. But Justin takes him in his arms and kisses him, with passion, until the French surrenders to that love they share, and that desire igniting them. Justin leads them to the bed and he gently pushes Emmanuel until he falls down on his back. 

“Don’t move. Don’t speak. Let me take care of you…” he says 

Emmanuel is about to protest but Justin shushes him with a kiss and as a gesture of goodwill Emmanuel lifts his hands in the air and nods. 

“Good boy…” 

Justin kisses Emmanuel on the lips, and he then trails down on his body, exploring with his lips. It awaks a whole new world of sensations for Emmanuel who barely contains his moans. 

“Manu’” says Justin when he notices “you don’t have to stay silent for me. You’ll see, you are probably the quietest of us both.” 

“Loud one in bed, Mister Trudeau ?”

“It’s a nightmare.” admits Justin “You can’t imagine how many times I nearly woke up the kids by screaming slightly too loud.” 

“I can’t wait to see this.” grins the French.

“What about your nipples ? Are you going to scream if I suck on them ?”

“Why don’t you try ?” 

Justin grins and keeps teasing Emmanuel. He wants to make the man beg for it. He has the feeling that his lover is both impatient and eager. He kisses the skin all around Emmanuel’s right nipple, he licks the wet skin giving goosebumps to his friend. Emmanuel’s whole body reacts much more than the French would like to, and he arches on the bed, a moan on his lips. 

“Please Justin…”

“Please what ? You are going to have to be more specific, love.” 

That new surname makes the French man’s cheeks become bright red, and the Canadian enjoys the effect he has on him. 

“Please Justin, stop teasing me like that.”

“Better…”

Justin smiles and traps the aroused nipple of his partner between his lips. The soft and warm lips are a wonder and Emmanuel closes his eyes to better appreciate it. One of his hand reaches for the back of Justin’s hand, and stays in his hair, gently pressing him further against his skin. Justin lets him do, he kisses, sucks, and tenderly lets his teeth brush against the extra-sensitive skin. It feels as if Emmanuel’s whole body was burning. Pleasure is overwhelming him already, and they have barely even started. Justin keeps going lower on Emmanuel’s stomach, still kissing him, making the man groan each time he presses his lips against his skin. Justin grabs the waistband of Emmanuel’s swimming trunks and he lowers them down the man’s legs, removes them completely and throws them in a corner of the room. He then focuses his gaze back on his lover’s face, and not on his intimacy straight away.

“Afraid of what you might see ?” questions Emmanuel, very turned on by the gaze full of love given by his friend.

“I imagine very well what I am going to see, I simply enjoy seeing you smile. And I find you extremely beautiful Emmanuel, I want you to know that…” 

Emmanuel places his hand on Justin’s cheek and they kiss, with a lot of fervor and devotion. Justin was blatantly honest. He finds Emmanuel extremely attractive, and he wants their first time to be as perfect as possible. They are still kissing, their bodies glued together, and Justin lowers one of his hand to seize the hard rod between them. 

“Oh, God !” exclaims the French against the lips of his partner “You are a fast-learner as well…” 

“I need you to guide me, Manu. Help me understand you. Please ?” 

“What are you going to… ?”

“Enjoy.” whispers Justin not letting him finish his question.

He kneels down between Emmanuel’s legs and finally lays eyes on the wonderful cock of his lover. The French President has nothing to be ashamed of : his penis is large and of a good proportion, and at this exact moment, rock-hard with a desire he can’t control. Justin lets his fingers wander in the pubic hairs on Emmanuel’s pelvis. 

“It tickles.” says the man laughing. 

“Sorry.” answers the Canadian “I’m admiring the view.” 

“Do you like it ?” 

“Very much. I didn’t thought I’d like it that much, to be honest… You almost look like a greek god.” 

Emmanuel laughs and blushes at the same time from the compliment. Justin takes advantage of his inattention to lean forward and kiss him on his inner thigh. 

“OH MY GOD !”

Emmanuel screamed from surprise and moved his leg so quickly that he nearly kicked Justin out of the bed. The Canadian grabs his friend’s knee and pins the leg on the bed. 

“Stop moving. You’re going to hurt one of us. But keep the screaming part. I like it.” 

Justin kisses Emmanuel on his inner thigh once more, slightly closer to his intimacy and Emmanuel screams again. It feels incredible. It sends pleasure directly to his brain, and makes him lose all control. Both his hands are playing with Justin’s hair, half-pissing, half-amusing the Canadian. Justin keeps kissing his way up to Emmanuel’s cock. When his lips finally touch the sensitive skin of his penis, Emmanuel sighs and says. 

“It’s torture Justin.” 

“How does it feel ?”

“Heavenly.” 

“And this ?” 

Justin licks the rod from base to top, circling the glans as he arrives to the tip. 

“OOOOH GOD JUSTIN !” screams Emmanuel, tugging on the strands of hair he has in hand. 

“That much ?” chuckles his lover raising his eyes to meet the enamored gaze of his partner “It’s been a very long time since I’ve done it, but I used to be pretty good at it.”

He kisses the tip of Emmanuel’s cock, and parts his lips to take Emmanuel’s cock in his mouth. He doesn’t force, and sucks only a third of the length, but for a first time, it is enough. Emmanuel keeps moaning, unable to form coherent words anymore, and keeps stroking the back of Justin’s head in appreciation. 

“Stop,” manages to plead Emmanuel after a while “please Justin, stop.” 

The Canadian understands, and stops sucking, going back up on Emmanuel, kissing him in the neck, and travelling back to his mouth. Their bodies are once again tangled together, and the French can feel the massive erection of his partner. 

“My turn to take care of you, it seems.” smiles Emmanuel “Be kind, I haven’t had a male partner in years.” 

“Who do you think I am ?” jokes Justin “Don’t worry. First times are always a bit awkward and messy for couples.” 

They laugh and Emmanuel places two pillows under Justin’s head, so that he lies down more comfortably, and the President pulls down the board shorts of his partner, finally freeing him from this prison of fabric. 

“Help me.” he says to Justin 

“Why ? You are doing fine on your own, I believe…” 

Justin crossed his arms behind his head and he is watching Emmanuel with amusement. 

“Spread your legs at least. Please…” 

Justin spreads his legs and Emmanuel finishes removing his swimwear. He does not have Justin’s self-control, and his eyes focus immediately on Justin’s intimacy. It is even more impressive than he pictured it in his mind, and he bites his lower lip. That cock must feel incredible when inside… 

“Manu ? Love ?” 

Justin saw his lover’s facial expression change while observing his penis, and he wonders what passed through his mind. But Emmanuel closed his mind and locked his thoughts away. He escapes the questioning gaze of his lover and bends over the edge of the bed to search in his travel bag for his toiletries. Justin is a bit surprised by this complete change of attitude but Emmanuel trapped him underneath him, and if he moves, he’ll unbalance them both and Emmanuel will end up on the floor. The French reconnects with him after a minute, holding a tube of lube in one hand, and a pack of condoms in the other. 

“Still certain you don’t want to use any ?” he asks Justin shaking the condoms box under his nose 

“Absolutely sure.” nods Justin “Put that back into your bag.” 

Emmanuel throws it back where he took it and he drops the lube on the bed, next to their hands. He intertwines fingers with Justin and with his free hand, he explores the intimacy of his friend. He barely dares touching, and Justin encourages him. 

“I am not made of glass, Emmanuel, you can touch me.” 

“Forgive me if this is all a bit intimidating.” 

“Does ‘all’ mean the size of my cock ?”

Justin grins and both of them burst into laughter. Justin brings both of Emmanuel’s hand on his penis, and shows him how he likes to be stroked. He tilts his head backwards, closes his eyes, and they caresses his rod together. A guttural moan escapes his lips and his legs involuntarily move. 

“Hey !” protests Macron “What did we say about not moving ?” 

“Sorry. It was a bad reflex.” apologizes Justin.

“You mentioned a second soft spot earlier, when we were in the pool, where is it ?” asks Emmanuel.

“Right here.” 

Justin brings his fingers to his inner right hip, just next to his testicles. 

“May I ?”

“Please…” 

Emmanuel lies down on his stomach, keeping his hands on the lengthy dick between his fingers, caressing it calmly. Justin brought his arms back behind his head. Emmanuel straight away kisses his partner on his soft spot and Justin roars, his whole body contracting in response. 

“OOOOH FUCK !” he exclaims “Sorry, love, I… I hadn’t been kissed there for quite some time.” 

“Oh. You mean, right there ?” 

Emmanuel plants a second kiss, and Justin screams his name as soon as his lips touch the skin. 

“EMMANUEL !” 

This sounded obscene and erotic at the same time, and this time, the Canadian blushes. He would have prefered Emmanuel not to see this side of him so soon. 

“Say my name again…” whispers Emmanuel coming back up on him and kissing his jawline “Say it again.” 

“Emmanuel.” moans Justin. 

This is turning them on very much and making them laugh at the same time. 

“Do you still want to top ?” asks Justin between two kisses. 

“Very much. Because I feel you might scream my name, and I want to hear that… But then…” 

“Then what ?” 

Justin paused. He was stroking Emmanuel’s back, his fingernails trailing down his spine, sending shivers in his whole body. 

“We’ll see.” brushes off Emmanuel “Can you tell me how long it’s been since the last time you’ve had a man inside of you ?” 

“Twenty years. -ish… How long since you fucked a guy ?” 

“About the same… I’m not even sure if I remember how to do that.” 

“You’re supposed to use a lot of lube. And stick your… thing in the hole…” jokes Justin. 

Once again, they laugh together. The Canadian understood that his friend was a bit nervous, and needed to be distracted. Emmanuel unscrews the cap of the lube and pours some on his fingers, asking politely : 

“Would you mind raising your legs up a bit ? Please ?” 

Justin only lifts one, and rests it on Emmanuel’s shoulder. The French smiles, and lowers his lubed fingers to Justin’s ass. He explores the area, spreading the lube generously around the hole. Justin closed his eyes, an ecstatic smile on his lips. He always enjoyed this moments, before penetration, when he is being lubed up, prepared for fingers, or cock, or both… It is reminding him of his youth, and this is a trip down the memory lane that he is happy to make. Especially with Emmanuel. 

“MMMH” he moans as Emmanuel’s fingers are circling around his hole. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear what you said.” 

“It feels sooOOOH GOOD !” 

Emmanuel took him by surprise in the middle of his sentence, pushing gently one of his finger inside. It slid easily, half-way in, and the French is grinning. 

“Got you.” he mutters 

“I must admit you have got resources up your sleeves, love.” smiles Justin “Now you have got to make room for a second finger…” 

“You are incredibly tight Justin.” 

“I ease up quite fast. Trust me.” 

Emmanuel slowly withdraws his finger, before pushing it back in. With the help of the lube, it slides easily, and Justin moans. He is indeed a moaner. Emmanuel keeps fingering him, and he kisses his partner in the neck at the same time, triggering his soft-spot behind the ear every now and then. 

“OOH !” exclaims Justin “You are not playing this fair, Emmanuel !” 

“Who said I had to play fair ?” answers the French in his ear.

He gently bites on the Canadian’s earlobe as he pushes his finger all the way in, making Justin’s body arch on the bed. 

“Naughty boy.” adds Emmanuel in his ear “I like that.” 

Emmanuel gets back up and with his free hand he teases the tip of his partner’s massive penis. He traces the outline of the glans, picking up the few drops of precum that escaped Justin. This double stimulation is overwhelming the Prime Minister who clenches on the sheets with his fists, trying not to move too much underneath Emmanuel. 

  
“Do you feel okay if I try for a second finger ?” 

“I’m dying for it, Manu’...” 

Emmanuel has no trouble pushing a second finger inside his friend, and this insertion is welcomed by a sigh of contentment. 

“Does it feel good ?”

“More than good.” nods Justin, short of breath “But don’t move just yet. I need to… To get adjusted to it.” 

Emmanuel waits, and Justin closes his eyes. He focuses on the wonderful sensation of being filled by his friends fingers, of having him holding his intimacy in his hand, and his body starts relaxing, and stops fighting the penetration. The lips of Emmanuel on his own make him reconnect with reality. 

“Better ?”

“Better.” says Justin “You can move now.” 

Emmanuel slowly starts moving his fingers, paying attention to every reaction from Justin. And the Canadian is very expressive. His whole face is lit by pleasure and he can’t take his eyes off of his lover. 

“AAAH !” 

That was a scream of pure pleasure and Emmanuel struggles to understand what might have triggered it. Justin is too overwhelmed to explain, so he tries to move his fingers backwards, and Justin produces the exact same sound. Except this time, by reflex he grabs one of Emmanuel’s arms, planting his fingers deep in the skin. 

“Oh God. Oh God.” he says as Emmanuel froze, slightly afraid to have hurt him “You have one of your fingers, I don’t know which one, on my prostate. It feels… It’s… Wow…” 

Emmanuel moves both fingers one by one to locate the precise spot and once it’s done he teases his friend, making him squirm underneath him. But not wanting him to reach his pleasure just yet, Emmanuel stops and kisses him, to ease his frustration. 

“I’d like to make love to you now, Justin.” 

He withdrew his fingers and it leaves a gaping hole within his lover. Now he only wants it filled with Emmanuel’s cock. 

“Take me, Emmanuel. Please.” 

“With pleasure, honey.” 

They smile at each other, and Emmanuel is ready to position himself to penetrate his friend but Justin stops him. 

“Wait.” he says placing his hand on the man’s chest “Plenty of lube, remember ?” 

The Canadian takes the tube of lube and pours some on his hand. He then spreads it on the French man’s cock, expertly stroking it in the process. 

“God, you are really good with your hands.” sighs Emmanuel. 

“My name is not God, but I forgive you for that mistake.” jokes Justin letting himself down again on the pillows “Your time to shine now !” 

Emmanuel is about to answer something when Justin adds : 

“Let me guess : you need me to get my legs up ?” 

He grins and rests both his legs on Emmanuel’s shoulders. The message is clear : he is offering himself to his friend. He once again crossed his arms behind his head, surrendering completely to him. 

“Ready ?” asks the French President 

“I am. Are you ?”

Emmanuel doesn’t answer. He positions himself, and thrust his hips forward. His cock slides inside Justin’s arsehole, slowly, bringing tears to the Canadian’s eyes. 

“All good ?”

“Don’t stop.” replies Justin “I’m good.” 

Emmanuel keeps pushing until he is halfway in and then only he stops. It feels exquisite. He bites his lower lip, and holds Justin by the hips. Feeling his lover so tightly wrapped around him is driving him crazy, and he moans as he slightly moves his pelvis backwards. 

“How does it feel ?” asks Justin 

“Wonderful.” sighs Emmanuel “And for you ? Is it painful ?” 

“What do you think ?” 

Emmanuel wipes a tear from Justin face with his thumb and says : 

“I’d say it is painful but manageable for you. You’d tell me if that was too much ?” 

“I swear…” 

The French President thrusts his hips backwards and then pushes them back to get deeper inside Justin. 

“OH LORD !” exclaims Emmanuel “It feels good.”

“Yes it does.” 

Emmanuel starts moving back and forth, very slowly at first, but when he is certain that Justin is not in pain anymore, he accelerates a bit. 

“Oh Manu ! That feels divine.” 

“Keep telling me how it feels, Justin.” 

Emmanuel places a hand on Justin’s cheek, caressing the skin with his thumb. Each time his finger wanders too close from the lips of the Canadian, Justin kisses it, and then grins from ear to ear. Emmanuel keeps moving inside of him, going deeper with each thrust, pleasure rising inside of him. The hand he has on Justin’s hip holds the man tighter, and he stopped touching the handsome face to hold himself on the bed. His hand is on the pillow, just next to Justin’s face, his fist clenched. 

“Manu’, love,” starts Justin “I told you before, and I’ll told you again, you can scream, or moan if you need to.” 

“I know…” 

Emmanuel tilts his head backwards, lips parted, eyes closed, all focused on his pleasure. He needs a second, only for himself. Justin waits, and when the French focuses back on him, it is with more love and devotion than ever. 

“I am so close, Justin.” he warns “I need to know…”

“I don’t mind.” cuts the Canadian stealing a kiss from him “Inside if you want to.” 

“Really ?” 

“Hurry up, before I change my mind.” 

They laugh and keep kissing. Emmanuel is now holding himself above is lover with both his hands on each side of Justin’s face. And his mouth keeps covering his partner with kisses. 

“I had forgotten how pleasurable this was…” whispers Emmanuel in Justin’s ears 

“I have to admit… This is the best sex I’ve had in a while.” 

Very surprised, Emmanuel looks at him with silent questions in his eyes and the Canadian answers them with a smile. 

“Yes Emmanuel, you heard that correctly. But don’t make me repeat it.” 

The answer of the French is a kiss behind the ear, that makes the Canadian push his hips higher in the air, sending Emmanuel deeper inside of him. 

“OH MY GOD !” exclaims the French President “OH Justin !” 

“Come on Emmanuel ! Give it to me !” 

“Oh it feels so good !” 

The French is now solely focused on finding his own pleasure and he reaches heaven in a deep push, screaming the name of his lover, his semen flowing inside of Justin. 

“OH JUSTIIIN !” 

That cry of pleasure is a delight for Justin. Emmanuel is lost in his overwhelming orgasm, and he blacks out for a second, collapsing onto Justin. 

“Emmanuel ! Manu ? Love ?”

“MMMH ?” 

The French frowns and opens his eyes with difficulty, his chin on Justin’s chest. 

“Sorry.” he mumbles “I got a bit overwhelmed.” 

“I saw that. Are you alright ?” 

“I am the happiest man on Earth. I feel… complete. And… thrilled.” 

They exchange a sweet kiss and Emmanuel withdraws from the welcoming and sperm soaked ass of his friend. Justin sighs when he’s completely out, feeling as if a part of him is missing. Emmanuel is still panting from that extremely powerful orgasm he just had, and he feels the need to lie down next to him for a second. Justin is still rock-hard, his glorious intimacy leaking precum, indicating how close he feels from a potential release. 

“I am going to take care of this in a second” he says pointing at the cock 

“About that… I think there is something you failed to tell me earlier. I saw your face change when you looked at it, and I want to know exactly what crossed your mind.” 

“Hmmm. Silly idea, that’s all.” shrugs Emmanuel “Don’t worry, it was irrational.” 

“Nothing is irrational. Tell me.” 

Justin encourages him with a hand on his cheek, and his lips exploring the tender skin of his neck. 

“I wondered how it would feel like, inside of me.” finally murmurs the French in his friend’s ear 

“Oh. Naughty, Mister President… Do you want to try that tonight ?” 

“I was counting on it, actually. So we’re even.” 

“I am going to rip you in half, Emmanuel.”

“In all modesty ?” 

They laugh and kiss, rolling on the bed, their legs tangled together, their hands on each other, like enamored teenagers. 

“I’d really like it, Justin. If you’re up to it, obviously.” 

“If I’m up to it !” chuckles the Canadian “Your ass is exquisite, my dear, and I will do what you ask, with pleasure. On one condition…”

“Which is ?”

“Try not to pass out, this time ?”

“I’ll do my best.” 

They swap places and Emmanuel ends up lying on the pillows. Justin makes him spread his legs, and with one hand he caresses the offered hole, exploring, discovering… With his other hand, he plays with the hairs on Emmanuel’s chest, drawing lines from his pectoral muscles to his pubis, making the man shiver underneath his fingers. 

“Did I told you how much I find you attractive ?” 

“You told me,” answers Emmanuel “but it is always sweet to hear.” 

“Everything about you is absolutely perfect.” 

“You are incredible too, Justin. Look at you, you look like an athlete !” 

Justin leans and kisses his boyfriend. His dick presses against Emmanuel’s intimacy, warm and sticky from his previous release. 

“We are going to need a shower once we are done.”

“Or a bath… Trust me we have an amazing bathtub.” 

Justin smiles and gives a kiss on the lips of his partner. 

“Where did you put the lube ?” he asks then. 

“Here.” answers the French placing it in his hand “Be generous, you are quite a lot to take in…” 

“I know, don’t worry. Do you know about your usual refraction time ?”

“My what ?”

“How long until you can become hard again ?”

“Oh… Given the orgasm I just had… At least fifteen minutes… Ten if you’re really good.” 

“Check the time then. I want to see if I’m good.”

Emmanuel gives a quick glance at the alarm-clock on his night stand and focuses back on Justin. The man is pouring some lube on his fingers, reading something on the label of the bottle at the same time. 

“What on Earth are you doing ?” 

“Trying to memorize the brand, and see if we’ve got it in Canada, that lube works wonders. It feels like…”

“Cotton candy” completes Emmanuel “I’ll send you a bottle if you want.” 

“Thanks.” 

Justin sets the bottle aside and puts his lubed fingers back between the buttocks of his partner. Emmanuel’s body is reacting to every single one of Justin’s touch, and his legs are agitated with goosebumps and twitching reflexes.    
  
“It is amusing you, much more than it should.” remarks Emmanuel. 

“You are so responsive to everything… It is almost as if you were touch-starved…”

“I am not.”

“I know. Everyone keeps touching you. I even saw your Prime Minister put his hand in your lower back yesterday evening.” 

“Is this jealousy ?”

“Maybe… How would you feel about that ?”

“You have absolutely nothing to fear about Edouard, you know that, right ? But it is adorable… What about my wife ? Are you jealous of her too ?”

“No.” simply states Justin “And you ? Are you jealous ?”

“Very much by nature.” says the French “But I can work on it.” 

“Would you work on it for me, if I make you scream of pleasure ?” 

By saying so, he introduces one finger deep inside Emmanuel. 

“OOOOOHMMMM” exclaims the French taken by surprise. 

“Told you !” exults Justin “You are so tight, it is delicious.” 

“I am glad you like it… Let me touch you while you prepare me…” 

Emmanuel starts stroking the hard penis of his friend while Justin fingers him, building pleasure inside of him. Before inserting a second finger, he curls the one he has inside and presses against the prostate of Emmanuel, making the man moan in response. 

“So that’s how it feels !” he exclaims.

“Exactly. Do you understand why it made me crazy ?”

“I do. Kiss me, Justin. Please.” 

Their lips dance together as they keep teasing each other. Effortlessly, Justin slides a second finger inside Emmanuel, and it surprises him to not struggle at least one bit to do that. 

“Just to be sure, show me your hand.” asks Emmanuel. 

Justin holds his hand in the air and Emmanuel intertwines his fingers with him. 

“You have large and strong fingers, and yet, you didn’t hurt me in the slightest.” 

“I was thinking just the same. Maybe I got you excited enough…” 

“Maybe…” 

Justin kisses him in the neck, and Emmanuel feels again a familiar heat spreading in his lower belly. He glances at the clock and grins. Nine minutes. Justin is a smartass. 

“How long ?”

“Nine minutes.” groans Emmanuel “And don’t say ‘I told you so’...” 

Justin keeps fingering Emmanuel, faster, his fingers enlarging the hole, his own cock aching with desire and utterly dissatisfied. He needs to fuck him. Soon. 

“Justin !” calls Emmanuel seeing him distracted “Stop using your fingers, get inside me, I want to feel you…” 

“Are you sure ?”

“Please.”

Emmanuel puts some lube on his partner’s rod, spreading it with his fingers, and Justin watches him do, mesmerized by the action of Emmanuel’s fingers on his skin. It feels extremely sinful, but terribly good. Justin is about to ask Emmanuel for his consent one last time but the French keeps him silent with a kiss. 

“Just do it.” he moans against his mouth “Just do it.” 

Justin kneels between Emmanuel’s legs, and positions his rod at the entrance of his hole. The lubed flesh penetrates easily, but painfully, and the French President ends up in tears, as the tip of the cock has barely penetrated inside of him. Justin has both hands on his partner’s cheeks, he wipes the tears with his thumbs, and keeps his forehead pressed against Emmanuel’s. 

“You tell me if you want me to stop.” he whispers “Okay ?”

His lover nods and Justin kisses him. He refrains himself from thrusting his hips deeper in one go, and instead tries to move his pelvis, not to go deeper, but to feel how tight Emmanuel is around him. 

“OH GOODNESS !” he lets escape “You feel amazing, my love. Amazing !” 

The French smiles through his tears and his body starts accomodating to this very unusual penetration. 

“Just like I believed.” says the President “Having you inside of me is incredible ! It’s so…”

“Fulfilling ?” suggests the Canadian. 

They laugh and kiss with passion. Emmanuel wraps his arms around Justin’s neck and his legs around the man’s waist, impaling himself further on his impressive flesh rod. He feels torn in half, and completely filled at the same time. Those mixed feelings are making him crazy and on top of that, Justin got him so excited that he is hard again. 

“My sweet, tender, sexy, incredible, surprising Emmanuel.” whispers Justin in his lover’s ear before biting on his earlobe “Thanks for offering me this night of pure bliss…” 

“Thanks for accepting me as I am.” 

“You are perfect, Manu… And I truly mean it.” 

Those words murmured in his ear make Emmanuel’s heart flutter for a while, and Justin caresses his partner’s chest with one of his hand. He thrusts his cock in and out of Emmanuel, entering about a third of it inside his friend at most, but it is the most exquisite feeling in the world. He takes all his time, not rushing things, so close to reaching cloud nine already. 

“You need to tell me, love, if I can… if I may come inside of you…” 

“It is up to you, Justin. But I wouldn’t be mad if you do…”

“MMMH. Promising horizon. Just so you know, I am really close.”

“Then stop talking. And please, let the real you out, I want to hear you…” 

Emmanuel smiles at him and gives a gentle caress on his cheek. Justin stands on his knees, holding his friend by the hips, and gives himself all to his pleasure. He surrenders to his carnal desires, and keeps moving his hips at a steady rhythm. Emmanuel is still very tight around him, and the very sensitive skin of Justin’s cock is enjoying this intimate contact very much. 

“EMMANUEL ! IT FEELS INCREDIBLE TO BE INSIDE OF YOU !” 

And it feels great to be able to express himself completely, screaming, and moaning, without the fear of waking up anyone. His hands move from the hips of his partner to his chest, and he goes up to the nipples of his friend, touching them with the tip of his fingers, arousing them. He takes Emmanuel by surprise as he pinches them, and the French’s body arches in surprise, rocked by pleasure, contracting around the large penis penetrating him. 

“OH GOD MANU ! OH I’M COMING ! OH GOD !”

The orgasm takes him and he comes inside Emmanuel, spurting semen in him, his name on his lips. The French is holding him at the waist, waiting for him to relax, and to make sure Justin doesn’t collapse on him, like he himself did before. 

“Oh Emmanuel. This was…”

“Incredible” completes the French. 

“More than that. This was heaven on Earth.” 

“Careful with those words, honey.”

Justin withdraws from the inside of his lover and lies down on his back next to Emmanuel. 

“Give me simply a minute, and I’ll make you come for the second time of the day.” 

“You don’t have to, Justin. You did enough, already.” 

Emmanuel takes his cock in his hand and starts masturbating under the mesmerized and surprised gaze of his friend. 

“Does that turn you on ?” questions the French. 

“Very much” smiles Justin “It is extremely sexy, Mister President.” 

“And you are a naughty Prime Minister, Mister Trudeau. If people knew…” 

They laugh and kiss. Justin helps his friend masturbate, and together, they bring him to the edge of paradise once more. 

“Mmmh Justin… Keep going… Please… Please Justin…” moans the French President “MMMMH” 

He ejaculates on his stomach, his whole body tense, a cry of pleasure in his throat, an ecstatic smile on his lips, the lips of Justin tasting the skin of his shoulder. He pants for a long minute, unable to say anything. Justin kisses him tenderly on the shoulder : satisfied, happy, and slightly exhausted by what they shared. 

“Still up for a bath, honey ?” asks Emmanuel turning his head towards him “We need to wash ourselves.”

“You did promise me an incredible bathtub.” 

“Come with me.” 

Emmanuel gets up on his feet, and taking Justin by the hand, he drags him to the bathroom next door. He pushes the sliding door, and enters, followed by his secret-lover. Justin wraps an arm around his waist, and rests his head in the French’s neck. 

“Quite impressive indeed.” smiles Justin looking at the bathtub. 

It is embedded in the floor, three steps leading to a large pool. Emmanuel opens the tap and the water starts flowing. He turns around and takes both of Justin’s hands in his, leading him into the bathtub with him. They sit face to face, on opposite sides, their legs folded, but tangled together, their fingers barely touching on the edge of the bathtub. Emmanuel is staring at his friend, surprised to have been lucky enough to be given the chance to share this with Justin. He does not deserve this. Justin is way too handsome, way too funny, way too incredible for him. 

“What are you thinking about, love ?” asks Justin seeing the change of attitude in his friend 

“I don’t deserve you Justin. This was incredible… And you are way out of my league…” 

“I am not. And remember what I said earlier : I am yours, Emmanuel. All yours.” 

“I wish this was true…”

“Do you really want to talk about this right now ?”

“We’ll have to at some point.” 

Justin shrugs. It is true. And delaying won’t make this conversation any easier. 

“Is it wrong that I want you all for myself ?” says Emmanuel.

“It is, and it isn’t.” sighs Justin “It isn’t, because I feel the same. And it is, because we both vowed fidelity to our wives. And we meant it… I mean… I did meant it, back them. I took a vow before God, and that counts for me, I hope you understand.” 

“I do. I am a man of faith myself. Brigitte and I didn’t get married in church, because I was her second husband, but I vowed her fidelity, and love. And don’t get me wrong. I love her. But here, with you… it’s…”

“Overwhelming ?”

“Exactly.” 

“I don’t know how to define what is happening to us, but I don’t want to fight it, Emmanuel. I simply want to live it. And see where it takes us.” 

“I do want that to.” 

Emmanuel pauses to stop the water from overflowing into the bathtub and he sits more comfortably in front of his boyfriend. The hot water helps his muscles relax, and he intertwines fingers with Justin, on the edge of the basin. 

“How are we going to continue this… relationship ?” says Justin. 

“Like before” sighs Emmanuel “Although it will be much more difficult know that we tasted to that forbidden fruit together…” 

“Forbidden fruit. I like that. This night we shared, was the best night I had had in ages… I am not saying sex with Sophie isn’t great, she’s sometimes spectacular, but we have been married thirteen years, and you are the hint of spice that was missing in my life. I hope it will be enough for now…” 

“It will. And I also loved our night together. Brigitte and I are having a great time in bed, but...”

“I bet !” chuckles Justin interrupting him

Emmanuel frowns and Justin has to explain himself : 

“Your wife is really beautiful Emmanuel, and she seems to be experienced, and to know exactly what she wants.” 

“Oh, she does.” laughs the French “I was saying that I was having a lot of fun with her in bed, but you and I, what we experienced today was on a totally different level.” 

“I know. I feel the same…” 

They stay silent for a while, simply gazing into each other’s eyes. Emmanuel wants to grab the bar of soap on the edge, but it slips through his fingers and slips between their legs into the water. 

“Oh fuck !” he complains “Every damn time !”

Justin manages to pick it up between his legs and gives it back to Emmanuel. The French scrubs himself with it, removing the dried semen on his stomach and in his pubic hair. Once he's done, he approaches Justin, on all fours, his hands still soapy and says : 

“May I wash you, dear?” 

“Only if I get a kiss first…”

Emmanuel kisses him tenderly and starts washing him. His hands are caressing his body, trying to relieve all tension in the Canadian PM's muscles. Justin closed his eyes to enjoy this sinful massage and when he feels the hands of his partner on his stomach he remembers that he has something to tell him. 

“By the way,” he starts “I lied earlier…” 

Emmanuel Macron instantly stops what he was doing and he swears. 

“Bastard. What did you lie about ?” 

“Nothing of importance really… I do sometimes have to shave, from here, to here.”

Justin traces a line from his plexus to the patch of hair on his pubis. 

“Why did you lie ?” wonders the French President with concern. 

“You seemed to like the idea of an hairless chest… I.. I don't know, I figured you'd prefer it that way…”

“You are… An idiot, Justin. An adorable idiot, but an idiot nonetheless.”

He deserved that. Justin sighs and accepts the insult. Emmanuel traces the same line that his boyfriend traced earlier with both his index fingers and then he adds : 

“I personally don't mind if you have hairs, or not. You have noticed by now that I do have hairs on my chest, and that you'd better get used to them because I don't have time to shave… However, what I really like is honesty. And you don't have to be ashamed of anything with me Justin. Ever. You and I both have a past, and we both have a present that we can't ignore. We'll have to deal with it, even though it might be hard sometimes. But when we are together, I want us to be the real us. Just you and I, in all honesty, the truest we can be, do you think this is something that could work ?”

“Yes, of course. I'm sorry I lied. But it wasn't really a big deal.”

“May I ask why you shave there, and not your armpits or your pubis ?” 

Curiosity is one of Emmanuel's most interesting qualities. And Justin makes him sits between his legs before answering. He holds him close with an arm around his waist, and rests his chin on his shoulder, his lips brushing against the skin in Emmanuel’s neck as he speaks.

“Two main reasons : first one, Sophie prefers me like that. Second one, if my shirt is not tucked into my trousers properly, there's no hairline coming down my stomach and into my trousers for the paparazzi to photograph… And trust me, they would… Oh and for a very practical reason : it itches with the sweat, and when I run I hate it.”

“I like you as you are, Justin, and I find you extremely attractive, and sexy…” confesses Emmanuel.

“But ?” reacts the Canadian.

“But I am wondering how much more manly you would look with a bit more hairs on your body…”

“Remind me of that conversation when I'm back home, and I might send you a picture of my backpacking trip around the world, before I met Sophie, when I was a bit more 'manly' as you say…”

“I can't wait !” 

They kiss and cuddle for five more minutes before getting out of the bathtub. Emmanuel finds clean towels in the cupboard under the sink and hands one to Justin. Predictable as always, Justin starts with his hair, unruly as usual, much to Emmanuel's delight. 

“For what it's worth. Your hair is part of what makes you adorable, honey. I know you hate it but you should embrace it…” 

To further add to this affirmation, Emmanuel gets one of his hand in Justin’s hair, and arranges it the way he knows the Canadian likes it. The man looks at himself in the mirror and smiles. 

“You do know me pretty well, Manu’... I am honored…” 

Justin ties the towel around his hips and takes the other one from Emmanuel’s hands. He wraps his lover in it, and takes him in his arms. 

“Having the chance to sleep next to you is the highlight of my day.” he says. 

“Oh, and I thought you fucking me was the highlight of your day.” jokes the French in response. 

“My naughty boy !” chuckles Justin kissing his friend on the lips “Let’s go to bed, now.” 

“What is it like to sleep with you ?” asks Emmanuel “How is it like to sleep with the incredible Prime Minister of Canada ?”

“Much like sleeping with anyone, really.”

“Heavy sleeper ?”

“A decent one, yes. Unlike you from what I’ve heard.” 

“I don’t sleep much. But when I sleep, I sleep well.” explains Emmanuel “Which is usually eased when I sleep with someone. Do you have a preference for the side of the bed ?” 

“Right side, if you don’t mind.” indicates the Canadian. 

“I don’t.” 

They laugh and settle into bed. Justin lies on his back, one arm behind his head, the other one around Emmanuel’s shoulder, keeping him close. Contrary to what he is used to, Emmanuel clings to his partner, an arm around Justin’s waist, his hand strategically placed on the hip of his lover. He inserts one leg between Justin’s one, to have even more contact between them. He is more used to sleep further away to his wife, but here, with Justin, it feels like the right thing to do. 

“Hmm… Do you always sleep like that ?” questions Justin. 

“Only when I sleep with a demigod like you. I rarely have someone as handsome as you are to help me doze off to sleep.” 

“A demigod ? Really ?” 

Emmanuel chuckles and plants a soft kiss on Justin’s pectoral muscle. He lays his head on his friend's chest and closes his eyes. In less than a minute, he joined Morpheus in the realm of dreams, much to Justin’s surprise. The Canadian plays with the man’s hair on the back of his head, mindlessly caressing the back of his neck, just like he does with his wife when she is asleep and him not. 

When Emmanuel wakes up in the morning, it is in an empty and cold bed. Justin is not here with him anymore, and given the coldness of the sheets, he hasn’t been for a long time. He probably changed his mind, and decided to sleep elsewhere. After all, this was maybe a bit too much… Sex and a night together ? Emmanuel asked too much of him. What was he thinking anyway ? He feels stupid for doing so… Passing his hand on his face he shakes his head to dismiss the memories from their wild night resurfacing and he gets up. He looks into his bag and gets into a clean pair of trunks. He walks downstairs to the kitchen and freezes when he sees Justin in the kitchen, arranging toasts and glasses of juice on a tray. 

“Fuck you, Emmanuel !” swears the man “Couldn’t you sleep for simply five more minutes ?” 

“What time is it ?”

“Seven forty-five.” 

“And why aren’t you sleeping ?” 

“Jetlag, it’s still waking me up at strange times of the night. And I thought that bringing you breakfast in bed would be a nice thank you.” 

“Were...Wow...Oh…” 

Emmanuel realizes he was mistaken and his jaw drops. 

“Were you really going to bring me breakfast in bed ?” 

“Yes… Why ?”

“I… I woke up alone, and I thought you decided to go sleep somewhere else.” 

“Really ?” laughs Justin “Why would I do that ?”

“Second thoughts, maybe ?” ironically answers the French. 

“You are an idiot, Emmanuel. Come here.” 

Emmanuel steps inside the kitchen and Justin takes him by the waist, he plants the most adorable kiss ever on his mouth, with love and devotion, and Emmanuel puts his arms around his neck. He could stay in Justin’s arms forever. He notices that the Canadian is wearing a pair of shorts, and given what Emmanuel can feel against his body, no underwear underneath. 

“Now that you are here, maybe we can have breakfast together ? There is something we need to talk about…” 

“You sound slightly too serious.” 

“Sit. I’ll do the talking.” 

Emmanuel draws a stool and sits by the kitchen counter. Justin prepared some toasts, with butter, jam, and honey. There are two glasses of juice, and two glasses of milk, as the Canadian didn’t know which one his friend was drinking in the morning. Emmanuel grabs a toast and puts butter on it, waiting for his lover to talk. A very little tremor in his fingers indicates his nervosity, and Justin noticed, but he doesn’t brings it up. Instead he picks up his cellphone on the countertop, browses through Twitter and slides the phone on the table between them for Emmanuel to see. The French president takes all his time reading the messages Justin wanted to show him. His presence in Brégançon is no longer a secret. And people know he brought Justin along. They have been photographed together on their arrival at the entrance of the property, when they came out of the car. And of course, everyone noticed that Brigitte wasn’t with them. Fuck, thinks Macron. This is going to lead to trouble. Much trouble. 

“Please say something.” pleads the Prime Minister of Canada.

“How much trouble are we in ?” 

“Well… People like to imagine things…”

“And they aren’t really mistaken, are they ?” 

A malicious smile enlightens the French’s face and he keeps reading on Justin’s phone. Some people are wondering if the two men might be shagging each other. These rumors are going to last. Emmanuel has been the target of rumors on his sexuality ever since he became a public personality, so he knows how to handle that. 

“Are you okay with that ?” he asks his friend. 

“I am fine. I’ll deal with Sophie myself.” he adds answering the next yet unsaid question of his friend “It’ll make her laugh.” 

The landline of the house starts ringing and Emmanuel explains : 

“Must be my wife. I left my phone upstairs. She knows she can reach me here. And that I am probably up by now.” 

He gets up to pick up the phone and puts it on speaker mode to keep eating his breakfast while discussing with her. 

“Good morning !” she announces. 

“Good morning, darling !” he says “How’s Paris ?” 

“Windy. How is the pool ?” 

“Amazing” answers Emmanuel with a smile “I guess you are calling to let me know about the rumors…” 

“So you have seen…” 

“I have. How do you feel about this ?” 

“We should have see this coming.” she says laughing “I mean. It’s almost written on your forehead that you are bisexual, honey. And Justin is… Well, you know how Justin is.”

The Canadian gives a surprised glance to his friend, who lets him know, silently, that he’ll explain later.

“I guess some people simply can’t imagine that two incredibly handsome men like you are just friends.” 

“I know, incredible, right ? And yet, it’s what we are… Friends.” 

As he said the last word, he took his lover’s hand on the counter, lying to his wife, betraying her, betraying his wedding. But he needs to make sure that Justin knows he’s here. And that nothing will change between them. 

“What did you do yesterday ?”

“We tried the pool, it’s amazing, you’ll see when you come this summer. And we discussed. A lot. Justin’s still sleeping, it’s pretty early, but he should wake up soon I guess.”

“And what are you going to do today ?”

“Swimming-pool, some reading, I’ll probably play the piano at some point, Justin will probably call his family, and since our presence here is no longer a secret, maybe we can go out for lunch in a restaurant.” 

“You should bring him to that nice place huh… What’s it called… oh… you know that fisherman’s place we went for dinner ?”

“Yes, I remember ! Nice idea. Thanks.” 

“When are you coming home ?”

“Late tonight. Justin will be departing straight from our plane to his, and I’ll be coming back home in the middle of the night. As usual, don’t wait for me to go to bed, darling.”

“I won’t. Have a nice day then. Say hi to Justin.”

“I will. I love you Brigitte, see you soon.”

“Love you too !” 

Emmanuel hangs up and stays silent for a while. He escapes the questioning gaze of his friend and keeps biting and chewing his toasts, thinking about the rest of their day. He lied to his wife. He lied on nearly everything he said. And yet, strangely, he doesn’t feel too guilty. 

“So… Brigitte finds me handsome ?” laughs Justin bringing Emmanuel back on Earth. 

“Everybody finds you handsome Justin. And everybody would kill to be in my place right now…” 

“And what is that place ?” 

Emmanuel steps closer to his lover and puts both his hands in Justin’s back, his forehead pressing against the forehead of his friend, his lips only millimeters apart from Justin’s mouth. 

“In your arms, Justin. In your arms.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooooo ? What did you think of this very long and awaited chapter ? Please tell me everything !!


	9. April 20th 2018 - Ottawa, Canada - I control my emotions pretty well, but when you come around, they’re all over the place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.  
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 9 : Power over Me (Dermot Kennedy)
> 
> \----
> 
> That chapter might be slightly harsh to read (but the next one will make you cry) so just keep that in mind.   
> And I'm sorry.

“And what about… we arrange to reduce the price of our steel, but in exchange, you reduce the taxes on our vegetables importation ?”

“Are you really trying to bargain ? With me ?” 

Emmanuel bursts into laughter and Justin shakes his head. Fuck. At least he tried. 

“Justin, you know I can’t do that. Besides, why are you even trying to negotiate this with me ? I can give you the phone number of three of my ministers who are far more advanced on that subject than me…” 

Justin laughs through the tablet he has on his desk. He has been home for a couple of days since he came back from France, and he is working from home in this late afternoon. But he is working remotely with Emmanuel, with whom he is speaking on video through their secure line. It is night in France, but as usual, the President is working late. And the perspective of simply chatting, reviewing international affairs together is a delight. Justin has been walking on eggshells since he’s been back home. As predicted, Sophie took pretty well the rumors of a romance between him and Emmanuel, but seeing him sneak out to make phone calls isn’t really helping her not to get suspicious. 

“Sorry, I had to try. And what about the arrangements you were discussing with the Chinese ?” asks the Canadian. 

He takes his pen, ready to take notes as Emmanuel begins to explain. The French President is wearing an open shirt that keeps distracting his friend a lot and he needs to focus on something else than the picture to really pay attention to what he is saying. 

“This was going well until last week, but it appears that the chinese ambassador in Paris hasn’t been invited to the party of the season so the diplomatic relations are a bit frozen and…”

He stops because Justin raised a finger to ask him to pause. 

“Just a second.” 

Justin heard soft knocks on the door of his office. 

“Dad ?” he hears through the door “Dad, may I come in ?” 

It’s Xavier, his eldest. 

“Do you want me to call back later ?” asks Emmanuel. 

“No, it is high time you get an insight of my family. But please for God’s sake button your shirt.”

As Emmanuel rapidly buttons it up, Justin gets up and opens the door for his son. The boy is hesitant on the threshold, aware to be disturbing his father while he works. 

“Come in.” smiles Justin. 

A pure smile enlightens the face of his son as he follows him in. Justin sits back on his seat and his son puts a box on his desk before realizing they are not alone. 

“Oh.. Hmm… Hey…” he says waving at the camera. 

“Good evening.” answers Emmanuel “You must be Xavier ?”

“It’s me.” nods the boy “And you are ?”

Justin chuckles of his son rudeness and he is ready to scold him, but Emmanuel gives him a look that signifies it is okay. 

“I am Emmanuel Macron, the President of France.”

“Oh. You’re Dad’s friend !” exclaims the young boy “He was with you last week, right ?”

“Yes. That’s me. He told me a lot about you, and it’s nice to finally put a face on your name, young man.” 

“Oh really ? What did he say ?” 

“I see you’ve got your father’s smart mouth.” laughs Emmanuel “He told me that you are a bright young man, very intelligent for your age, and that he was missing you, and your siblings very much every time he was travelling abroad.” 

Justin silently thanks his friend. He never said that much about Xavier. He thinks it, of course. But he never said those words. And Emmanuel just saved the day. 

“What did you want to show me ?” asks the Canadian Prime Minister to his son. 

“It’s a project for school,” explains Xavier pulling the box closer “For art lessons, the teacher asked us to create inside the box, the perfect house, the one in which we’d like to live.”

“Let me see…” 

In France, Emmanuel stretches on his seat, arms crossed behind his head, tilting his head on the side to relax the muscles in his neck. He gives time to his lover to be with his family, Justin needs it, and they will resume their conversation later. Fifteen minutes later, Justin sends his son back to where he came from, with his box and a kiss on the top of the head. He waits until the boy has closed the door to turn back to Emmanuel : 

“That was my eldest. He is indeed very bright. Thanks for saying that to him.” 

“He has a smart mouth, you should be careful around him.” 

“All of my kids have smart mouths. Sophie and I are both bold and open-minded, and we sometimes regret that our kids inherited that… Especially when they meet strangers for the first time. Even though we tried to raised them the best we could.”

“Come on, Justin. Your kids are incredibly cute, and I am sure they are also very polite.” 

“Xavier was very rude with you, Emmanuel.” 

“It’s alright, please don’t blame him. And I was really happy to meet him. When will I get to see your other kids ? And your wife ?”

“Would you want that to be now ?” 

Emmanuel challenged him, and Justin took him on his word. The President is surprised but impressed : he didn’t think Justin would do that straight away. 

“Really ? And how would you introduce me to them ?”

“Do I really have to introduce you ? Your face is on the news every other morning, Manu. Sophie knows who you are, I believe that my daughter knows you as well, and Didi is a bit young, but he’ll like you. Wait a second, I’ll get them to come here.” 

Justin exits the frame, and the room and Emmanuel is left in bewilderment. He vainly arranges his hair and finishes buttoning his shirt. He needs to look presentable. He feels weird about meeting Justin’s kids and wife, even if it’s only through a screen for now. He clearly hadn’t planned on it for tonight, and after the exhausting day he had, this might not be the most brilliant idea ever. Justin and him will have to be careful, not to slip, no to let them know that they are more intimate than they should be. Justin comes back two minutes later with his youngest son in his arms, telling his friend : 

“Soph’ and Ella are coming. And I found this little guy in front of the television.” 

Justin passes his hand in the hair of his son, tucking a lock of hair behind his ear and encouraging him to say hi to Emmanuel. 

“Good Evening Hadrien !” says Emmanuel waving at the boy “How are you ?” 

“I’m good.” answers Hadrien letting go of some of his timidity “How are you ? What’s your name ? Are you a friend of my father ?” 

“I’m indeed a friend of your dad. My name is Emmanuel, and I am feeling okay. But a bit tired, because it’s late night here in France.” 

“And given the hour, you should be in bed !” jokes Sophie arriving behind her husband “Hi Emmanuel, nice to finally meet you !” 

They wave at each other a smile on their lips. The daughter of the family is brought in the front by her mother and she timidly smile at the French President. 

“Hi.” she says 

“And you must be Ella-Grace !” says Emmanuel “You look so much like your parents, young lady…” 

It makes the young girl giggle, and the proud father blush a little. 

“How come you two are working so late ?” asks Sophie sitting on the edge of her husband’s desk “Isn’t there like a rule of some sort that says you have to stop discussing the fate of the world after midnight ?”

“It is not midnight yet.” replies Emmanuel with a grin “And for what it’s worth I don’t need much sleep, so I work late. And we were not really working anyway…” 

“Oh, so you are keeping my husband from his work ?” 

She smiles and her hand looks for Justin’s one. The PM put Hadrien on the floor, and Emmanuel tries to obliviate the intertwined fingers of Justin and Sophie and focuses instead on the kids. He questions them for a couple of minutes on their lives, what they like to do, in what class they are in, what they do at home etc… A insight of the daily life of the Trudeau family. Justin picked up that Emmanuel is unusually serious, avoiding his gaze, and it worries him slightly. Sophie studies the man on the screen with interest, her husband knowing they will talk about it later on that evening. She will certainly have plenty to say about him. She stays wary about the questions the man is asking to her children, finding it slightly strange that he gets that invested in their life. 

“Okay,” finally says Justin clearing his throat “Enough questions for tonight, Emmanuel. You still have to finish that story about the Chinese ambassador.” 

“Right.” admits the French “But it was a pleasure to finally meet your family. You told me so much about them…” 

“Nice to meet you too !” exclaims Sophie “My husband talks about you all the time, and I was pretty curious to see you. But I still hope we’ll meet in person some time soon.”

“I’d be delighted to, Sophie. Justin is lucky to have a wife as exquisite as you.” 

“And an expert in flattery, you truly are an man full of resources, Emmanuel.” she laughs. 

They wave goodbye and she leaves with both her kids. Justin closes the door behind them and he comes back to Emmanuel. He sits down in his chair, crosses his legs on the desk and asks : 

“What do you think ?” 

“Your kids are very intelligent and terribly cute. They took after their parents.” immediately answers the French “But your wife hates me.” 

“Wait, what ?” 

Justin can’t believe what he heard. Sophie hating Emmanuel ? That is silly. And based on absolutely nothing. He doesn’t understand where this is coming from and really feels confused. 

“She sees a rival in me. You’ll see. She sees the danger, the threat that I am. Trust me, she hates me.” continues his lover. 

“She hasn’t even met you for real, Emmanuel, you are not making any sense ! And ‘hate’ is a bit strong, don’t you think ?” 

“Have you seen how she held your hand, making sure that I could not miss it ? She kept playing with your wedding band all the time I was discussing with your daughter, Justin.”

“Emmanuel, she’s my wife, she holds my hand all the time… And she’s always playing with my wedding ring. I lost a little weight, it’s a little loose on my finger, it makes her laugh, nothing more. Seriously, you are taking this out of proportions Manu’.” 

Justin sighs and removes his legs from the desk, turning completely towards the camera. 

“Is this the jealousy we talked about the other day ?” he adds, wanting to clear things out. 

“Maybe…” 

“Manu… You can’t do that to me. Not now. Please… Not after what we shared. We knew it’d come to that. She’s my wife. And I love her. Just like you love yours...”

“Talking about Brigitte, I should probably go to bed with her. I’m exhausted.” cuts the French President suddenly on edge. 

“Maybe it’s best if we talk again about it in the morning, indeed.” answers Justin quite pissed off by the childish reaction of his partner. 

“Good night then.” 

Emmanuel cuts their call short, before Justin even gets a chance to answer. The Canadian PM feels angry and sad. Everything was going smoothly between them, so why is Emmanuel suddenly sending this awfully wrong signals ? Is he really that jealous of Sophie ? Did he pick-up some non-verbal clues from his wife ? What did Justin miss ? It’s with all this questions in mind that he decides on sending a text to his lover. 

**_I wish I could at least have said goodnight before you hang up. I’m sorry if Sophie gave you the wrong impression. I am sure she does not hate you, and anyway what she thinks doesn’t matter. Have a good night. Call me tomorrow._ **

He then puts his phone away and joins his wife in the kitchen. She is working on her laptop and lifts up her gaze to look at him. 

“Already ?” she frowns “I thought you were working.” 

“Emmanuel was tired, he went to bed.” evasively explains his husband “May I disturb you for a minute ?” 

“I can give you ten minutes, honey.” she agrees, stealing a kiss from his lips, and lowering the screen of her computer.

“Happy to finally have met Emmanuel ?” questions Justin.

“It was high time, don’t you think ?” she replies “Given the hours you spend on the phone with him.” 

“What do you think about him ?”

“He’s… Interesting. Funny, charming, interested in you and your family, he seems to be a good friend of yours. What more can I say ? He is a good leader, from what I know, you and him seem to think alike on a lot of points… Should I continue or did you get what you wanted ?”

“I got enough. Thank you.” laughs Justin “I’m glad you like him.”

“He’s your friend, I don’t have to like him or not. But I’d like him even more if you spent less time on the phone with him, honey.” 

“Hmm.” nods Justin.

Sophie is right. He needs to find the right balance. But this is going to be incredibly hard. Especially if Emmanuel acts like he just did. Talking about this, Justin received a text on his cellphone and he checks it discreetly. 

**_I am sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted like that. Your wife is great. Let’s talk tomorrow._ **

At least Emmanuel understood he was in the wrong. Justin puts his cellphone back in his pocket and takes Sophie’s hand on the table. He smiles at her and kisses her hand. He loves her. So much. And as Emmanuel said : he’s lucky to have her. And he will find his balance. Because he needs both her and Emmanuel in his life, that is now something he is certain of. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo.... Rollercoaster of emotions once again, right ? 
> 
> Justin's kids ? Adorable, right ?   
> What do you think about Sophie ? Does she hate Emmanuel as he seems to think she does ? Or is he simple blinded by jealousy ?   
> Was it a good idea for Justin to introduce his boyfriend to his family via video chat ?   
> What will happen for them next ? Is a fight underway ? How will Justin be able to handle Emmanuel's (excessive) jealousy ?


	10. April 21st 2018 - Ottawa, Canada - How to balance a wife, and a lover ?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.  
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 10 : Feel - Robbie Williams 
> 
> \-----  
> This chapter happens just 24h after the previous one. That's why I publish it now.
> 
> Disclaimer : I literally CRIED (real sobs) writing this chapter, so grab a tissue or something, just in case.

Justin adjusts the wireless headphones in his ears and cracks his neck. Exercise will do him good. He had a terrible day. After his fight with Emmanuel the previous evening, he hasn’t had the chance to spoke with him to sort things out, and even though there had been a quick apology from the French, they will still have to talk about it. Justin did a lot of thinking between his sessions and meetings at the Parliament. He needs to set rules and boundaries in place with Emmanuel, to protect his precious relationship with the man, and in the meantime preserve his marriage. Both are equally important to him at the moment, and he doesn’t want to have to make a choice. He adjusts the straps on his hands, carefully, protecting his joints, and before putting on his gloves he taps on his phone screen to call Emmanuel. The soft voice of his friend can be heard directly in his ears and it makes him shiver. 

“Hello.” says the French “I wasn’t sure you’d call…” 

“You could have called. You should have in fact.” replies Justin slightly too coldly for what he intended to do.

He closes the straps of his gloves, with the help of his teeth and Emmanuel who heard the noise asks : 

“Why aren’t you calling on video ? Where are you ?”

“Boxing practice.” explains the Canadian “I am alone, so don’t worry, we can talk, and I know you’d rather see me, but it’s better if I’m not seeing you. I am weaker when I see your sorry face, you’ll soften my heart, and that is not exactly the type of conversation I want to have right now… I need my thoughts clear.” 

“I don’t like when you sound that serious Justin. Are you mad because of yesterday ? I overreacted. And I told you how sorry I was…”

“I know. And I am not mad at you for this…” 

Justin starts hitting the training bag in front of him. If this was only on him, Emmanuel would be forgiven even before they had the argument. But he needs to stick to his plan. Setting rules. Establish boundaries. 

“What is this about then ?” sighs the French President “Are you having second thoughts ? Are we breaking up ? Are we even together ?”

“Emmanuel, please don’t make things harder than they are. And don’t play dumb with me, my day was exhausting, and yours certainly was too. Of course we are together, unless you want to stop things, which will be your choice, because I absolutely don’t want that…” 

Justin keeps hitting the bag, slightly harder, trying to focus on his moves and not Emmanuel’s face that he keeps seeing in front of his eyes. Focus for God’s sake Justin ! Focus ! 

“I care about you Emmanuel, I care about you a lot. I don’t want to break up with you. Ever…”

“But ?”

“But we need to establish rules.” sighs Justin giving a hard punch in the practice bag “Ouch ! Sorry, I misplaced my fist. What was I saying ?”

“Rules.” prompts Emmanuel. 

“Oh yes, rules !” exclaims Justin reconnecting with his train of thoughts “Sophie is on my back a lot lately, because of all the time I spend with you, and as much as I love speaking with you, it starts impacting my marriage, and I have to restore the balance, I hope you do understand. I don’t know how Brigitte positions on that point…” 

“She doesn’t realize, we often talk, you and I, in the evenings, and she thinks I am working late. Which is somehow true I guess.” 

They both smile, unbeknownst to the other. 

“Look, love,” continues Justin on a much softer voice than before “I need both Sophie and you in my life, I am not asking you to understand, I just wish you could accept it as it is. Because I won’t make any concessions on that point. And those rules will be there to help me achieve this. So I can both be with you, and with my family.” 

“I understand, Justin.” sighs Emmanuel “And I am sorry if I gave you any other impression yesterday. I am jealous, I have always been and will always be, but I’ll work on it for you. Because believe it or not, I am madly in love with my wife, and I need to keep that balance as well.”

“So… You are okay with the idea of setting up rules ?”

“Of course.”

A loud sighs of relief from Justin makes Emmanuel burst into laughter. 

“Who did you think I am ?” continues the French “Knowing you, I guess you have already thought about these rules ?” 

“Extensively” sighs the Canadian “It gave me headaches, and the need to come down here to exercise…” 

Justin falls silent for a while, punching the bag as hard as he can, to alleviate the stress he is feeling. 

“Justin ?” finally asks Emmanuel “Care to elaborate ? We can discuss anything, you know that…”

“One call a day, maximum, except international emergency. No more than one hour. Unless we are having sex on video, or working with our teams.” 

“Do you classify that under the same category ?” jokes Emmanuel.

Justin chuckles and Emmanuel answers. 

“One hour of friendship a day, I can manage.”

“Not friendship, Emmanuel.”

“Not friendship ?” 

Emmanuel doesn’t really understand. Wasn’t that the whole point of their agreement ?

“It is much more than friendship Emmanuel. I want much more than friendship with you. When I call you, I want to tell you about my day, tell you about my kids and how proud I am about them, I want to tell you about how exhausted I am, and how pissed I am at Vladimir and Donald and whomever I had meetings with during the day. Just like I do with Soph’ in the evening. I want that intimacy with you Manu’... I need it…” 

Justin stopped boxing. He is exhausted mentally as well as physically. Saying those words out loud made them real and it felt like running a marathon. Emmanuel takes an eternity to respond, and that frightens the Canadian. He fears to have said too much. Maybe he was too forward in his approach. Maybe he went too far...

“I… I want that too Justin.” finally manages to mumble Emmanuel with a strangled voice. “That is the most beautiful declaration anyone has ever made to me. You really set the bar high with that one.” 

“My pleasure.” replies Justin with a grin. 

He fell on his knees on the practise mat, tears of emotion in his eyes. He can’t put words on what he is feeling right now, but these last few weeks have clearly been the beginning of something exceptional with Emmanuel. Even though it’s something forbidden. Something that must stay hidden. 

“Any other rule ?” asks Emmanuel coming back on their initial subject.

“Have you told anyone about us ?”

“No, have you ?”

“Neither. Do you plan on letting anyone into the secret ?”

“Not for the moment.” says the French President “I don’t know who I can trust. And it’s too recent.” 

“I agree. So… Let’s keep that to ourselves for now ?”

“Just the two of us. Against the rest of the world.” 

“I like the sound of that. But we’ll have to be careful in international meetings. Vlad’ busted us texting several times already…” 

“We will be careful. And next international thing is at your place anyway.” 

“Wrong !” corrects Justin “We have the Unesco conference before the G7.”

“Oooh I had forgotten about this !” exclaims the French President “A good thing I have a… boyfriend ? To remind me of those things. Is ‘boyfriend’ an okay term for you ?” 

“Yeah, sure…” 

Justin is grinning from ear to ear, and he suddenly regrets that Emmanuel can not see him. He removes one of his gloves and takes a selfie with his phone that he sends to his boyfriend while they keep talking. He is now sitting on the mat, his legs crossed, and he starts again : 

“I also want you to keep in mind that if you really really need my presence, for something important. We can break the rules. We are rulebreakers and have always been, but try not to overuse that, okay ?” 

“Okay. I received your picture, honey. It’s… hot. Really hot. My office just went three degrees up in temperature.” 

“One day, I’ll take you to boxing practice, so you can see me like that for real. All sweaty. I swear it’s not as sexy as it seems…” 

“It sounds sexy, though.”

They laugh and keep talking, more at ease now that they know they are on the same page regarding their relationship. 

“Also. There will be days on which you won’t be able to call me.” says Justin “Only a few in the year. Sophie and the kid’s birthdays, my Mom’s, Canada day… I’ll make a calendar for you. I would have added Christmas on the list, but since it’s my birthday as well, you still get a pass on that one.”

“Lucky me.” sarcastically replies Emmanuel. 

“Come on, you know that those are days dedicated to my family. You can survive one day without me, can’t you ?” 

“Sure.”

“I’m fairly certain you do have a couple of days of the year when I won’t be able to call you, don’t you think. When is your wife’s birthday ?” 

“April thirteenth,” answers the French “by the way, you forgot two dates in your little list…”

“Oh, did I ? And what are they ?” 

Justin got back up on his feet and started exercising again, punching the bag in front of him, with more passion than before. 

“May twenty-eighth.” drops Emmanuel 

“I see you did your researches on my past, love.” laughs Justin “True. That date should be on the list. And Sophie would kill me if she knew I forgot our wedding anniversary.” 

“I won’t be the one to tell her…” 

“What’s the second one ?”

“Valentine’s day ?”

“We do not celebrate much, but true thing, this should be on the list too. Yours as well. What’s your wedding anniversary date ?” 

“October twentieth.” 

“Put that on your list. Add your grandkids birthdays, or the dates that really matters for your family, and I’ll comply. I won’t disturb you on those dates. We have to respect each other’s marriages and families.” 

“How was it ? Your marriage, I mean...”

“Amazing. If you look on the Internet you should be able to find some pictures, don’t mind the outfits, it was thirteen years ago, the fashion was very very different at the time…”

Justin can hear his friend typing on his keyboard and the muffled chuckle indicates he found the pictures. 

“That haircut is amazing Justin.” laughs the French President.

“Emmanuel, I have seen pictures of your wedding, you looked worse.” 

“Wait, how did you see pictures of my wedding ?”

“There were countless documentaries about you when you became President, I might have rewatched a few recently…” 

“Can’t get enough of seeing me, Mister Prime Minister ?” 

They both laugh and Emmanuel says : 

“I admit I had much more hair on my head when I got married. So did you. But we both look better now.”

“How was your wedding ?”

“The best day of my life. I had been waiting for years to finally be able to marry Brigitte. It was an accomplishment for both of us. And to have our families by our side on this special day was really important.”

“Were your parents here ?”

“Of course.” 

“That’s great…”

Emmanuel perceived the nostalgia in his boyfriend’s voice and understands that some days the absence of his father is more painful than others. 

“You wished your father would have been there for yours ?” asks Emmanuel knowing the answer but trying to get Justin to open up about it.

“There’s a lot of things I wished about my father, love, but I didn’t get that chance.” 

Talking about his father made Justin lose his balance and he misses the bag that comes back to his face. He manages to avoid it but swears loudly prompting his friend to question him on what happened. 

“Sorry,” apologizes Justin “I got distracted and nearly got the bag in my face. Talking about my father isn’t easy for me, you’ll see that. It’s like a scar that sometimes itches without you knowing exactly why. But I guess that’s how thing goes… Regarding my wedding… I not only wish he could have been there, but I wish he could have known I was dating Sophie. He died in 2000, and I officially started seeing Sophie three-years later…”

“But you knew her from your childhood, right ?”

“She went to school with my youngest brother, Michel.” confirms Justin “So yeah, we sort of knew each other more or less.” 

“How many brothers do you have ?”

“Two. I had two…” 

Justin stopped once again. His family is cursed. And Emmanuel doesn’t seem to have realized that just yet. But if they are dating, even behind closed doors, he needs to know. 

“Justin ?”

“Sorry. A flow of horrendous memories just came back to my mind.”

“Do you want to talk about it ?” 

“I’ll call you back, by video, in a couple of minutes.” 

Justin removes his boxing gloves and cuts short the phone call with his boyfriend. He leaves the gloves on the mat, grabs his phone and goes to sit against the wall with it in his hands. He calls back Emmanuel, on video this time, and waves faintly at him when his friend’s face pops up on the screen. 

“You could probably read all of that on the internet,” starts Justin “but I imagine that you’ll prefer to hear it from me.” 

“Justin” cuts Emmanuel “You don’t owe me anything. And if you are not ready to talk about your family, you don’t have to. I don’t want to put any pressure on you, is that clear ?”

“Very clear. But at one point or another, I’ll have to open up about my family. Today seems okay to do it, I am alone, I have time, no one is waiting for me at home for at least a couple of hours, and you don’t seem to be that much tired…”

“I’m a bit tired. But my curiosity has been piqued.” 

“My parents had three sons. I am the eldest. The middle one, Alexandre is exactly two years younger than me, born on Christmas day just like I am.”

“What are the chances ?!” exclaims Emmanuel 

“I know, that is crazy. Our little brother, Michel, was two years younger than him, born in october 1975. He was the one who went to class with Sophie, actually. The lucky bastard.” 

Justin chuckles and continues his story. 

“We all grew up to be balanced teens, more or less, despite the pretty bad divorce of our parents. You have to know that my mother is no saint, she cheated on my father, several times, and their relationship ended pretty badly. It would have ended earlier if it weren’t for us, to be honest… To her defense, she’s bipolar, and that may explain a lot of things. She had two other kids when she remarried after she divorced my father. My father also got one with a second wife. But we never really considered them as siblings…”

“So, it was always the three of you, then ?” asks Emmanuel. 

He noticed that Justin used the past tense several times talking about his youngest brother, and he fears to know why, but he’d like to be sure. But he doesn’t want to rush his friend either. 

“Until 1998…” 

Justin pauses and takes a deep breath. He closes his eyes for a moment and a silent tear roll down his cheek. Emmanuel feels guilty for dragging him down the memory lane. 

“My youngest brother, Michel, died in an snowslide that year. We never found his body. My father never was the same anymore after that. Neither was my Mom. We buried an empty casket, and the whole country somehow shared our pain. Two years later, my brother and I had to bury my father, with all the cameras of the nation watching us cry. Again…”

“Oh Justin…” 

Emmanuel doesn’t know what else to say. His lover is doing all he can to keep from crying, but there are tears in his eyes. He lived through that rough couple of years, and he got better, he grew from them, he got happier. He reconnected with Sophie, she helped him heal, she helped him patch up his wounds, and they eventually got married. That’s why he loves her so much. 

“Thanks for telling me all of this. You didn’t have to. And it proves how much you trust me. And even though it’s slightly disturbing, I think I like to see you vulnerable. I mean… A little less flawless.”

That makes Justin smile and he wipes his eyes with the back of his hands. He feels good to have told his family story to Emmanuel. Of course there would be so many more stories to tell, but that will come at another time. And with happier ones. Justin’s thumb found the way to Emmanuel’s face on the screen and the Canadian keeps smiling. Seeing his boyfriend is a real gift, and with the new set of rules they established, everything will run smoothly. Although there is one rule he thought about and they haven’t yet discussed. 

“Hmm, love ?” he says, clearing his throat “I just thought about one rule I forgot to mention…”

“Tell me.”

“Sex. We need to set up boundaries about sex. I love it, you love it, and when we are physically together, I don’t want to put any limitation, but when it’s through screen ? We need to put restrictions on that…” 

“I agree.” sighs Emmanuel “Once a week ?”

“Once a week.” nods Justin “Seems good to me. But let’s try to keep those moments at night, or when we are at home. I mean, you work from home, but I usually don’t, and I won’t take any chances with my office at the Parliament…”

“Are you sure of that ?”

“Oh you are not going to pervert me, honey. No sex in Parliament.”

“We’ll see.” 

“Dirty boy. Talking about that, I don’t feel like boxing anymore, which means, I am going to shower, do you want to come with me ?”

“I’d love to !”

The French President is playing cheeky, unbuttoning his shirt and getting more comfortable in his seat. They both want to steam off after the emotions of the day. Justin has the advantage and privilege of using the sport facility in which he is right now privately for a couple of hours each week, his security officer making sure no one else enters while he is inside. Sometimes he has a trainer with him, helping him with his boxing abilities, but today is not one of these days. He needed to be alone with his thoughts. Which is a good thing as he can hit the shower alone. With Emmanuel. He goes into the locker room, and sets his phone on the bench, facing the showers. Emmanuel is still watching him, in silence. Justin strips down, and he is about to go under the running water when Emmanuel screams a warning : 

“JUSTIN ! Your headphones !” 

“Fuck !”

The Canadian removes and disconnects his headphones. Emmanuel is sent through speakers and he sighs of relief as Justin finally steps under the shower, his glorious anatomy to be seen by Emmanuel only. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is all about accuracy. Nothing has been made up. All facts, and dates are correct, and there's bunch of pics on the Internet, if you're curious, you can check them out (please do check the wedding pictures, the haircuts are hilarious). 
> 
> If you are brave enough (or want to make yourself cry) : Justin did the eulogy at his father's funeral, it's available on Youtube, it's heartbreaking, but worth the watch. 
> 
> Otherwise : what did you think about this chapter ? Not being mad at each other for E's jealousy ? Setting rules and boundaries : good or bad idea ? Justin wanting to find the appropriate balance in his life ? The confessions ? How they can be true and honest to each other ? 
> 
> What will happen next for them do you think ? What has still not happen in their relationship that might need to happen soon (let's see if you've been paying attention !) ?


	11. May 11th 2018 - New-York, USA - JTEM

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.  
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 11 : Can’t help falling in love 
> 
> Some of you may feel familiar with this chapter.... Explanations in the end notes.

Justin knocks on the door and the French President waves him in but makes a sign instructing him to keep silent. The man is on the phone, through speaker, with someone that Justin identifies easily. He’d recognize that voice pretty much anywhere. And he was with him earlier that day. Donald Trump. The conversation is slightly heated, and Justin sees how much is boyfriend is containing his rage to not scream at the President of the United States. Justin closes the door of the office in which they are alone, and he silently takes Emmanuel’s hands in his, unclenching his fists, and unbending the fingers one by one. Trump is ranting about China, and how much Europe is always unfair with the US and how he is the best, while Emmanuel stares in the distance, trying to relax thanks to Justin’s help. 

“Look, Donald.” he finally says, interrupting the man mid-sentence “I have the feeling this conversation is leading us nowhere. Maybe the night will help us clear our thoughts, and we could pick that up tomorrow. At the breakfast if you want, or later in the day, let me or my team know what works the best for you.” 

“Yeah, let’s do that.” laughs the American absolutely certain to have won this part of the argument “Talk to you tomorrow then.” 

“Talk to you tomorrow.” 

Emmanuel slams his finger on the end of call button and exhales deeply. This went a lot worse than he expected. 

“What was that all about ?” asks Justin sitting on the corner of his desk, his hands still holding Emmanuel’s ones. 

“Climate deal.” 

“I would never have guessed !” exclaims Justin with a laugh “Why was he ranting about China, then ?” 

“No bloody idea. I stopped listening five minutes before you came in.” 

A malicious smile brightens the French’s face and he finally lays eyes on his lover. They have been waiting all day for this moment : being reunited behind closed doors, just the two of them. Justin places his hand on Emmanuel’s cheek and the French’s closes his eyes to appreciate even more the touch, and he leans further in it. 

“I missed that.” he says adding his hand on top of Justin’s one “I missed that very much.” 

“And I thought you appreciated our handshake this morning.” jokes Justin.

“Oh come on. This was so…”

“Unsatisfying ?” suggest the Canadian. 

“Exactly.” nods the French “And I need so much more.” 

“We have all night for that, love.” replies Justin “Although I have to be back to my hotel before dawn…” 

“I know. Are you going to the head of states breakfast tomorrow ?” 

“I wouldn’t miss that for all the gold in the world.” 

“You are a terrible liar, honey. I guess we’ll see each other there, then. I am delighted to be eating croissants with Donald, given the conversation we just had… Oh and there’s President Xi. And Theresa… And…”

Justin makes him stop by kissing him. He couldn’t stand anymore being so close and yet so far. And, like every time, it works wonders : Emmanuel instantly softens up and abandons himself to the arms of his partner. Emmanuel caresses the cheek of Justin, but it soon turns into scratching and the French breaks their kiss to ask : 

“Didn’t you shave this morning ?”

“I haven’t shave for two days.” admits Justin “I had to sacrifice shaving to get breakfast with my kids this morning. The choice was easily made.”

“And yesterday ?” 

“Hmm… You are asking a lot of question tonight, love. Do you really want to know ?” 

“I do.” nods Emmanuel. 

“I had sex with Sophie, and I was late for work. I skipped the shaving part of my morning routine…” 

“You are letting yourself go, Justin.” 

The French grins and kisses his boyfriend tenderly. 

“You are not going to have time to shave tomorrow either.” he states.

“Me not being properly shaved seems to be a real bother to you, Manu…” 

He knows it is just another occasion for the French President to take his mind off of international affairs for a while. Emmanuel is a brainiac, always thinking, processing, and rarely relaxing completely. 

“I have an idea.” says Justin. 

He escapes Emmanuel’s embrace and goes through the open door leading to Emmanuel's bedroom. Thank god the French asked to have an hotel room with both a workspace, and a space in which they will be able to have sex. Justin kneels down on the floor, next to his boyfriend’s suitcase, barely even opened since his arrival in the morning, and looks for something. 

“What are you looking for ?” asks the French President.

Emmanuel leans against the doorframe between the two rooms. He changed after his meetings of the day, wearing a loose dark blue shirt and a light pair of jeans. A very casual look for him. Justin didn’t get the chance to change clothes before joining him, and he is still wearing his suit. He comes back to Emmanuel and takes his hand to place a small object inside. The President lowers his eyes and chuckles when he sees his own cartridge razor in it. Justin kept the travel size bottle of shaving foam in his own hand, and shows it to his boyfriend. 

“That’ll give you something to focus on. And I hope it’ll help you get in the mood for something else.” 

“Thanks. But, do you really want me to do this ?”

“Why not ? I trust you enough to do it to me...” 

“You shouldn’t.” 

“Try not to cut me. Please. Soph’ hates when I have cuts on my cheeks…”

“Then maybe I should cut you on purpose.” grins the French. 

Justin shakes his head in disbelief and as he gets rid of his jacket, Emmanuel goes into the bathroom to grab a glass in which he puts water to rinse off the razor. He throws a clean towel over his shoulder and returns into the bedroom. Justin is sitting on the bed, struggling to open the sleeves of his shirt after removing his shoes and socks. 

“Let me help.” 

Emmanuel expertly unbuttons the sleeves so that Justin can focus on opening up the rest of the buttons of his shirt. The French President makes it slide down the muscular shoulders of his friend, his fingers lingering for a second on the tattoo on Justin’s shoulder. 

“Will you ever get used to it ?” laughs Justin. 

“I’m not sure.” chuckles Macron in response “But I’ll try.” 

Emmanuel draws a chair in the middle of the room and asks Justin to sit on it to be more comfortable. The Canadian drags him by the hands until he faces him and says : 

“Sit on me, you’ll be more comfortable” 

Emmanuel sits on Justin’s lap, his legs spread on each side of Justin’s thighs. He sets the goblet with water between their legs. And puts the razor in it. He retrieves the shaving foam from Justin’s hands but before letting go of it, Justin says : 

“Don’t cut me, alright ?”

“I’ll do my best. I never shaved anyone but myself. It’s your last chance to stop me.” 

“Do it.” 

Emmanuel spreads foam on Justin’s cheeks and chin, being careful to cover every single part of his face that needs to be shaved, upper lip included. He then meticulously slides the blades on his skin, shaving the man sharply and carefully. It takes him fifteen minutes, and when it’s done, he wipes the remaining foam with the towel and gives a small kiss on his lover’s lips. 

“That’s much better. You look smooth.” 

“I always look smooth…” 

Justin laughs and opens the buttons of Emmanuel’s shirt. But the French President keeps his open shirt on his shoulders for now. 

“Thanks for letting me do this. It helped.”

“How are you feeling now ?” 

“Much better. Thanks.” 

Emmanuel kisses Justin, ready to bring him to bed for other activities when they are interrupted by a phone starting to ring. 

“Fuck.” groans Justin “I should probably take that. Must be the kids. You don’t mind ?”

“Go on…” 

Emmanuel goes back into the bathroom with the razor and he empties the cup and washes his razor. He lets it to dry on the sink edge, puts the can of foam next to it, hangs the towel under the sink and comes back into the bedroom. Justin is lying on the bed, bare-chested, chatting on video with his kids as if if he was in his own bedroom. He gives a quick glance at Emmanuel who points at the door leading to the office. There the French President takes his phone and texts his wife to let her know that he is okay. 

**_I had an argument with Trump. I truly hate him. Must talk to him again tomorrow. I’ll be working late. I will call you tomorrow, I love you and I miss you._ **

She replies within minutes with an heart emoji and it makes Emmanuel’s heart flutter a little. Always there when he needs her the most. He takes a paper and a pen and scribbles down an idea that just crossed his mind. Justin finds him deep into writing down arguments when he comes back five minutes later, after his call. 

“Working again ?” he asks raising an eyebrow 

“Mainly laying out ideas before they escape. I’m all yours when you are done with whomever you were talking to…”

“Manu… Are you going to be jealous of my kids as well ? Sophie, I can understand, but the kids ?”

“I’m not jealous…” 

“Say that again, without lying.” 

Emmanuel doesn’t answer. He doesn’t have to. He feels ridiculous. Justin says to him : 

“Can we go back to the bedroom ? You promised me sex…”

“I didn’t.” 

“I have texts on my phone that prove otherwise.” chuckles the Canadian “You were very naughty this morning, love.” 

“Your suit makes your ass looks indecent, honey.” replies Emmanuel on the same tone “And it gave me ideas.” 

“While we were talking on preserving the World Heritage sites ?”

“There were naked statues all around us, Justin…” 

“And that is an excuse ?” 

Justin closed the distance between them during this back-and-forth and he puts his fingers under the French man’s chin and forces him to look up. 

“For your defense, I love when you text me naughty things during international meetings…” he whispers. 

Emmanuel stands up and kisses him with passion. He lets go of his inhibitions and Justin takes him by the hips. One of his hands slides on Emmanuel’s bum, grasping it with force, fiercely planting his fingers in the flesh through the fabric. 

“I’d take you here, but the bed seems deliciously comfortable…” moans Trudeau.

“I know. I think the same.” 

Giggling like teenagers, and kissing constantly, they walk their way back, in each other’s arms to the bedroom. Emmanuel slams the door of the office shut behind them, and drops his phone on the abandoned chair on their way to the bed. Justin’s cellular is on the bedside table and the Canadian pushes it further away to let his boyfriend know that this moment is for them both together. They end up in each other’s arms on the bed, Justin on top of his partner, still kissing him with passion. Emmanuel’s shirt is now wide open, and one of the Canadian’s hands finds its way to the exposed chest, playing with the hairs, teasing the already hard nipple. 

“Hmm” moans Emmanuel in response “I like that !” 

“I know.” smiles Justin “You are so sensitive to my fingers, I’m sure I could make you scream my name by just touching you.” 

“Let’s not play that game tonight, okay ?” 

“Okay.” 

They laugh and keep kissing. Emmanuel makes them roll on the bed and ends up on top, much to Justin’s surprise. 

“Taking initiatives, Mister President ?” 

The Canadian makes Emmanuel’s shirt slide off his shoulders and sends it flying through the room. Their intimacies are pressing against each other, growing, impatient, eager to be released. 

“Do I get that you want to top ?” 

“Do you mind ?”

“I told you, it’s up to you, I really don’t mind. Either’s fine for me, love.” 

“Good then. Because I really want to top tonight…” 

“Naughty boy !” 

Emmanuel kisses Justin on the lips, and then on the cheek, then the jawline, then in the neck, making Justin exhale of pleasure. The lips of the French cover his neck with kisses, barely touching the skin, but sending shivers down his spine. When Emmanuel presses his lips behind his ear, Justin’s body arches on the bed, in a reflex and he moans. 

“OOOOH Emmanuel !” 

“Say that again.” whispers the French in his ear “Please, say it again for me.”

“Hmmm Emmanuel !” repeats Justin.

“I like when you moan my name.” 

Emmanuel gets down on Justin’s body, kissing his way, from his neck, to his chest, keeping his hands off of the mix. He wants to explore with his mouth only, and it seems to please Justin very much. One of his hand is reaching for Justin’s hair, but the Canadian catches it on its way up, with a laugh. 

“You thought I wouldn’t notice ?” jokes Justin “I know you, love…”

“Please ?”

“Fine. Just try not to get too tangled in there.” 

Justin frees his boyfriend’s hand and sighs when Emmanuel’s shuffles his hair, diverting his attention by licking his skin all around his right nipple. The French President finds it very amusing to be messing with Justin’s hair, and he keeps going down on his hairless chest, kissing and exploring with his tongue. Desire is rising in his partner, and Justin struggles to keep calm under this exquisite treatment. Emmanuel ends up just above Justin’s trousers and temporarily leaves his hair to use both hands to unbuckle the belt of his lover. He tries once, fails, tries a second time, and Justin comes to his rescue. 

“Sorry” starts the Canadian “That one is always tricky, I don’t know why. But it’s a gift from my mother, so I keep wearing it anyway.” 

He has to force it open and Emmanuel grins to see him like that. Justin lies back down on the bed. 

“All yours now.” he says “Sorry again, next time, I’ll think about it beforehand.” 

“Don’t apologize. Now I know how much of a Mama’s boy you are…” 

The French laugh and pulls down the trousers of his boyfriend. He removes it completely and let it down on the floor. While he is there, he searches through his suitcase to find the lubricant, that he stashed somewhere when he packed for his trip. The only problem is that he doesn’t remember where. 

“Found it !” he exclaims throwing it on the bed next to Justin “I really need to learn how to pack a suitcase.” 

He climbs back on top of his boyfriend, his body on him, and he kisses his with passion. He noticed how big of an erection Justin is having, but he decided to tease him a bit more, just for the fun of it. The Canadian is wearing dark green boxers, very old school, which pleases Emmanuel a lot. He rubs his own crotch against the hard rod of his boyfriend, teasing the Canadian, making him moan with impatience. 

“You know that torture was abolished a long time ago ?” whispers Justin against the lips of his partner. 

“Torture ? Really ?”

The French President feels playful tonight, and teasing his partner is part of his plan to make them enjoy their night as much as possible. He gently bites on Justin’s lower lip and asks : 

“Do you want me to release you then ?” 

“I’d very much like that, Manu’...” 

“Eager and impatient… You are dirty, Mister Prime Minister…” 

“And proud to be !” 

Laughing, Emmanuel sits on his knees, between Justin’s legs. He lets his hands wander on Justin’s underwear, marking the edges of his cock, hard and ready to be pleased. 

“OH GOD !” exclaims Justin when Emmanuel seizes his penis through the fabric of his boxers. 

With a smile from one ear to the other, Emmanuel leans forward, and plants kisses all along the massive flesh rod, still through the fabric. Justin refrains himself from moaning, clenching his fist and biting on it, not to sound too eager. Emmanuel knows how noisy he can be, but that is a side of him he sometimes feels a bit ashamed of. Emmanuel pulls down his boxers, removing them completely, and they end up on the floor, with the rest of Justin’s clothes. The erection of the Canadian presents itself, in all its glory, in front of the French’s eyes. Emmanuel licks his lips and places his hands on the inner thighs of his lover. He gently push on them, forcing Justin to spread his legs further, allowing his partner to do anything he wants with him. Remembering their first time, Emmanuel kisses Justin just above the knee, and kisses his way up his inner thigh, until he reaches the soft spot Justin has, next to the most intimate part of his anatomy. A loud, guttural moan, coming straight from the depth of Justin’s throat answers that particular stimulation and the Canadian’s reaches for Emmanuel’s hand. 

They intertwine their fingers, in an intimate, very caring way. And Emmanuel keeps treating his boyfriend the way he thinks Justin deserves to be worshipped. He is insanely attracted to his lover, and that massive cock, hard just for him is making him hard as well. And to think he will have the chance to take Justin, to make love to him, to possess him, it’s driving him crazy. Emmanuel still uses his mouth as the powerful tool it is and he licks the whole length, from base to top, of Justin’s penis, alongside a vein that he sees through the skin. 

“Hmmmm” moans Justin “Could you do that again ?” 

Emmanuel does it once more, adding a little twist of his tongue around the glans at the end, making Justin moan harder this time. The PM parts his lips and exhales deeply, his fingers tightening their grip on Emmanuel’s hand, as if to say “please honey continue”. Emmanuel opens his mouth and takes the tip of the dick between his lips, he sucks on it gently, like he would do with a lollipop, and he uses his tongue to keep teasing the already extremely aroused head of Justin’s penis. Justin closed his eyes, overwhelmed by all the sensations he is feeling. This is too much. Emmanuel is caring, tender and loving, but insanely tempting, arousing and devilish at the same time. And that is an irresistible cocktail for him. It feels exhilarating. Justin feels out of this world, a little bit as if he was drunk, or high. Emmanuel is still sucking him, and he is good at it. Justin makes a mental note to himself to ask him later how did he learn to suck so well. Their hands are still joined, and Justin softened his grip on Emmanuel’s fingers, which alerts his boyfriend slightly. His rod still trapped between his lips, he raises his blue eyes to Justin and ask a silent question. 

“Time for you to get naked.” explains Justin “I feel frustrated to be the only one receiving at the moment, even though you are the best sex partner I ever had.” 

“Ever ?” 

Emmanuel’s question was sincere and the subtext was obvious. The French climbs back on Justin who makes them roll on the bed, so he can be on top. 

“You are the best sex partner I ever had, hands down, love.” asserts the Canadian to his enamored boyfriend 

Happy to be winning at least that on his lover’s wife, Emmanuel wraps his arms around Justin’s neck and kisses him with passion. Justin is eager to strip down Emmanuel from the last pieces of clothes he is wearing but he is not expecting the surprise he is about to have. His warm and powerful hands are busy trying to unzip the fly of Emmanuel’s jeans and when he finally manages to do so, he introduces one of them through the opening, wanting to tease the man as he was teased before. 

“OOOOH !” he exclaims “Naughtier than I expected ! Is this an habit, or is it just for me ?”

“I knew you were coming, I thought it was one less thing to rip off me !”

Emmanuel is not wearing any underwear under his jeans, and Justin’s hand met his hard and warm dick, ready to be pleasured. 

“I like the naughty you.” whispers Justin in his partner’s ear. 

He kisses Emmanuel in the neck, below the ear, and the French tilts his head on the side, allowing him a clearer passage. Justin laughs and keeps kissing him. From time to time, he lets his teeth brush against the very soft skin of his partner, knowing exactly how much it will mess with Emmanuel’s desire. Neither of them can come home with a bite mark, and yet, both of them would gladly if they unleashed their deepest desires. Maybe one day… 

“Having wild thoughts ?” questions Macron with a grin, sensing his partner lost in his thoughts “You know you can’t do that, right ?” 

“I know, I know…” 

“I mean. Brigitte likes you, but… She is not ready to like the idea of you biting me…” 

“Too bad…” 

Justin kisses him and goes down to strip Emmanuel from his jeans. They are now both naked, aroused, rock-hard, and determined to enjoy their night together. The French President’s chest is slightly glistening with droplets of sweat, and with the lights coming through the window it looks like drops of pure gold. Justin adores Emmanuel’s body. He looks like an Athenian statue, a Greek god, a slightly indecent ephebe. 

“Unless you changed your mind,” starts his lover “about who’s in charge…” 

“I didn’t.” brushes off Justin taking the lube next to them and opening the cap “But I’d like to prepare your hard cock, if you don’t mind.” 

“I don’t.” 

Justin pours some lubricant on his fingers and closes the cap. He puts the tube back on the bed and brings his lubed fingers to the impatient flesh rod erect between the French legs. His finger lingers on the skin, exploring, caressing, barely touching… 

“Hmm” nods Emmanuel 

“Do you like that ?”

“A lot.” 

Justin lowers his hand and tries something else. He lets the tip of his fingers brush against the testicles of the French President and it makes his boyfriend exhale deeply. 

“Oh. Sensitive much ?” 

“Quite…” admits Emmanuel with a nervous chuckle 

“You should have told me.” 

Justin takes the testicles of his lover fully in hand, and carefully makes them roll between his fingers. Emmanuel clenches his fists, trapping the sheets in them, closing his eyes and tilting his head backwards, lips parted. Justin says nothing, he wished his friend was more vocal, but being the privileged witness of the pleasure on his face is enough for now. And he knows that Emmanuel will thank him later for that. He switches hand to keep playing with Emmanuel’s balls, as his lubed fingers return to spread more of the lubricant along the large and long penis of the French man. Emmanuel has nothing to be ashamed of : his intimacy is perfect in size, at least according to both his wife and lover, and he knows how to use it to please his partners. 

“I think that’s enough.” groans Emmanuel struggling not to let the pleasure overcome him entirely. 

“Are you sure ?” 

“Bloody certain.” swears the French “Get your hands off of me, please.” 

He re-opened his eyes, and is looking straight at the clear blue eyes of his partner. Back in charge. Justin lifts his hand in the air, as a gesture of goodwill, and lets himself down on the bed, next to Emmanuel. He lies down on his back, hands still in the air, and spreads his legs apart. 

“All yours, as we said.” he smiles. 

“Good boy.” laughs Emmanuel. 

The French climbs on top of him, trapping him underneath him, and preventing him from attempting anything. He is the one in charge here, just as they planned. Justin holds Emmanuel against him, his arms around his waist, his hands pressing in his back. 

“Do you want me to…” starts Emmanuel, slightly hesitant.

“No need. Trust me.” 

“I don’t want to hurt you, honey.”

“You won’t…” 

Justin kisses him to give him strength and courage and Emmanuel agrees. Okay. No preparation. He positions himself between Justin’s legs, but the position isn’t comfortable enough and it pisses him off. 

“Hey.” calls Justin placing his hand on Emmanuel’s cheek “How do you want me ?” 

“I don’t know… Let me think…” 

He gets up on his feet and helps Justin come closer to the edge of the bed. The Canadian crosses his arms behind his head, admiring the initiative spirit of his boyfriend. He keeps his legs apart, his arse on the edge of the bed, his legs hanging down, his feet on the floor, and Emmanuel smile enlarges. 

“Better.” he mutters

The French, standing on his feet, positions himself, and his lubed cock breaches through Justin’s hole. The sharp pain of the initial penetration is soon replaced by a feeling of pleasure and fulfillment that Justin knows all too well. Emmanuel leans over his partner’s body and kisses him on the lips, as he moves his hips forward, pushing himself further inside of him. 

“Oh god, Emmanuel !” exclaims Justin “It feels so good !”

“And you are so tight around me, like we were meant to fit together.” 

The French grins and his lips travels from the mouth of his partner to his ear. He kisses him just below, and then behind, teasing that special place where Justin likes to be teased. The whole body of the Canadian contracts in reflex and it makes the French laughs. He starts moving his hips, going back and forth inside Justin, controlling both their pleasures. Justin keeps moaning, louder with each thrust. Emmanuel continues to kiss him, never growing tired of having his lips on Justin’s delicate skin. The Canadian uses both his hands to mess with Emmanuel’s hair, taking amusement in the surprised look he receives in response. 

“So, you get to do this, but not me ?” 

“You are adorable, with messy hair, love.” states Justin biting his lower lip at the view of his lover over him. 

“May I do it too, please ?” 

Justin abandons his resistance, and nods imperceptibly. Emmanuel knows it is a lot to ask, but when his hand finally ends up in Justin’s hair, playing with the strands, it enhances both their experiences. Justin completely lets go of his initial reluctance, trusting his partner entirely, and Emmanuel uses his free hand to pinch one of Justin’s nipple, stimulating him in more than one place at once. The Canadian is a mess of a man, completely overwhelmed with pleasure, entirely dependant on every single touch of his partner. And Emmanuel is giving him back, a hundredfold, what he made him feel earlier. 

“I am so close, Justin. Do you mind if I come inside of you ?” whispers the French in his lover’s ear with the deepest voice Justin ever heard from him.

“Please, do.” 

Emmanuel keeps fucking him, a little harder, going all the way in, thrusting his cock until his testicles are pressed against the skin of his lover, and the he withdraws, and goes back in again. Justin’s moans are driving him crazy, and he finally reaches orgasm with a powerful thrust and a cry. 

“OOOOOH JUSTIN !” he screams while his semen flows inside the Canadian, his whole body tense 

Justin holds him by the hips, making sure he doesn’t fall in case he passes out like the first time. But it doesn’t happen this time. 

“Thank you.” whispers Emmanuel against Justin’s lips “Thank you so much.” 

He withdraws from the warm and tender embrace of his boyfriend and ends up lying on the bed, next to Justin, trying to catch his breath. The Canadian is still waiting for his release, so close to climax, but yet unsatisfied. 

“We do this together ?” suggests the French President taking the cock in hand to masturbate his lover to oblivion.

“Together.” nods Justin adding his fingers to the mix 

Together, they start moving their hands up and down Justin’s impressive flesh rod. 

“Oooh Manu’...” moans Justin with an indecent tone of voice. 

“You deserve to be properly taken care of, honey…” says the French removing his hand by surprise “Please let me show you how.” 

Emmanuel changes position and takes Justin’s cock in his mouth. As soon as his lips enter in contact with the fragile skin, Justin shivers and by reflex pushes on the back of Emmanuel’s head. 

“Careful,” warns the French “It’s been a really long time I’ve brought someone to orgasm that way, try to let me breathe, okay ?” 

“Hmmhm” nods Justin unable to say any coherent words. 

He is used to not insist too much with Sophie, and he will certainly not force Emmanuel into anything. He keeps his hand on the back of his lover’s neck, stroking the top of his back with his thumb, as the French starts sucking. Once more, Justin is more than bewildered by the abilities of his partner, and he appreciates more than he should the blowjob that he is receiving. His free hand is on top of Emmanuel’s head, messing with the hair, in an appreciative and caring move. That is his way of saying thank you. Emmanuel skillfully uses his tongue to accentuate the movements of his lips, and even though he can’t take Justin’s fully in his mouth, what he does is enough to quickly bring Justin to his non-return point. 

“Love, I am going to come.” warns Justin struggling to keep composure any longer “Please stop. I can’t hold it anymore…” 

“Give it to me, honey.” whispers the French in response. 

He keeps sucking, helped this time with one hand to also stimulate the base of the penis. Justin doesn’t understand. everything is going too fast for him, and he struggles to piece things together. But he can’t contain his orgasm any longer. 

“HMM ! EMMANUEL ! THIS… THIS FEELS… OOOOH !” 

He tries his best to keep his hips down, but his body betrays him and he thrusts himself deeper in Emmanuel’s throat as he ejaculates several spurts of sperm directly in his mouth. 

“Oh God !” he exclaims falling back on the bed, exhausted and contented. 

Emmanuel coughs but swallows what he has in mouth without making a fuss and he lies down next to Justin, on his stomach, his head resting on the Canadian’s chest, an arm around his waist, one of his legs between Justin’s one. Both of them are exhausted, and five minutes pass by until they speak again. 

“Thank you for that, love. That was surprising, and very wild.” smiles Justin 

“I wanted to make something special. Because you are special to me.” 

“Am I ?” asks Justin a bit amused, a bit surprised, but mainly curious to see where this is leading them. 

A light blush colors Emmanuel’s cheeks and Justin counts to ten in his head before the French dares to open his mouth again. 

“I… I mean… I care a lot about you Justin. And you took a very important place in my life. And today, I can not picture a future in which you are not included.” 

“This is… adorable, Emmanuel. And I feel the same about you. I want you to be part of every aspects of my life, I hope you know that…” 

“I do.” 

They intertwine fingers and rest their joined hands on Justin’s chest. Emmanuel’s head is resting just above his boyfriend’s heart, and he can hear it beating, strong and steady. Justin’s powerful arms are holding him close, protecting him and keeping him from the outside world. At this exact moment, Emmanuel wishes he had the guts to say the words to Justin. He wants to tell him he loves him. But maybe this is too soon. Maybe Justin will reject this declaration. This might take their relationship too far, and break this fragile moment they are having. So he keeps quiet. For now at least. 

“I have to ask something quite personal to you I’m afraid, do you mind ?” finally sighs Justin. 

“Never. You can ask anything you want, honey.” 

“How come you give blowjobs that are so satisfying and worth to be damned for ?”

Emmanuel laughs and kisses his boyfriend before answering. 

“I had a youth…” 

“Care to elaborate ? You don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I’m quite curious, to be honest.” 

“When I started to explore my sexuality,” explains the President “I was blowing a lot of my friends. High-school bathrooms, parks, my bedroom… I practised a lot…” 

“Wait. You mean that you… The nice, good, preppy boy were sucking dicks for fun for years ? At your parent’s house ? At school ?” 

“Oh come on, don’t give me that look ! You did it too !” 

“No, I didn’t !” protests Justin. 

After a second, he pouts and adds : 

“Okay. I did.” he admits. 

“At school ? Or at your father’s ?” teases Emmanuel.

“University.” says Justin “In my dorm.”

“Naughty. But you are good at it too you know.”

“Not as good as you. It was insane. Really insane.”

“That much ?” 

Justin kisses Emmanuel on the forehead and nods. It was excellent. More than he could have wished for. 

“And the… swallowing part ?” he dares to ask to his boyfriend 

“An old memory I wanted to relive.” brushes off Emmanuel “And I’d relive it again and again with you. If you want to, of course…” 

“Hmm… Tempting.” 

They laugh and kiss tenderly. Justin is caressing Emmanuel’s arm with one of his hand, unable to express the feelings he has for him. He’d like to say how much he loves him, because this is clearly love, but he is afraid to make the man run away. He likes this moment of intimacy they are sharing, just the two of them. 

“I can’t wait for you to come next month to my place…” says Justin after a while. 

“This is going to prove interesting.” nods Emmanuel “Especially since you insisted so much for hosting Brigitte and I at your place for a night before the G7. I mean… What went through your mind ? Are you crazy ?”

“To be fair… That was not my idea.”

“Really ?”

“It was Sophie’s.” sighs Justin “I couldn’t really explain to her why this was a terrible idea, could I ? She said that if you really were my best friend, then we should have you home, as friends.” 

“It’s going to be so awkward for the both of us.” says Emmanuel “But I’ll guess we’ll behave.” 

“We will have to. I have three extremely smart kids, remember ?”

“I can’t wait to see them for real. They are extremely bright, and lively, and they look so much like you… Especially Xavier.”

“He took so much after me. Hadrien is taking the same path. But Ella, my sweet Ella, is going to look so much like her mother…” 

“A beautiful woman then.” 

This remark is surprising in his partner’s mouth, and Justin frowns at him. Emmanuel grins and adds : 

“I am extremely jealous of Mrs.Trudeau, that does not mean I can’t recognize a beauty when I see one.” 

“She’ll be flattered. Try to stay nice with her, okay ? It’s important for me…” 

“I know. I’ll do my best.” 

“Thanks. We should go shower, love.” 

“Go first, I’m not sure it’s wise if we go together.” 

“Why ?” 

“Because I am not sure I could resist an Adonis like you.” 

Justin shakes his head and gets up. Emmanuel lies down on his stomach to watch him walk to the bathroom, his eyes admiring the wonderful bottocks balancing as he steps away. 

“Stop staring, love” laughs Justin entering in the bathroom without even having to turn around to his boyfriend. 

Emmanuel only moves when he hears the water running in the bathroom. He gets up on his feet and goes into the bathroom. He didn’t change his mind about joining Justin, but he still wants to feel close to him. Justin is still oblivious to his presence, his face turned to the wall, steaming-hot water flowing all over his body, relaxing his muscles from the tension of their night together. He jumps in scare when he turns around and sees his lover sitting on the edge of the bathtub. 

“Did you change your mind ?” he asks. 

“I didn’t” replies Macron “But I like being here with you. Don’t mind me. I have to fix my hair anyway, you messed it up quite a lot.” 

They both laugh and Emmanuel gets back up and watches himself in the mirror. He arranges his haircut, in vain, and passes a hand on his face. He is beaming. With love. He smiles, and hears Justin chuckles in the shower. 

“Do you have soap, by any chance ?” asks the Canadian 

Emmanuel throws at him one of the miniature toiletries he found on the edge of the sink and Justin catches it mid-flight. 

“Thanks, love.” 

His shower is so hot that the whole room is filled with steam. The mirror in which Emmanuel was admiring himself earlier is shading with steam, and an idea starts to emerge in the French’s mind. Maybe those words he can not express, he could write them. Writing has always been easier for him than speaking, at least for the first draft. So maybe this is the solution. Emmanuel waits until Justin is washing himself, his back to the President, to use his finger to write down those three little words that mean so much to him, and he escapes the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Justin finishes showering, and he notices the words on the mirror as soon as he steps out of the shower. But Emmanuel is nowhere to be seen. He probably was too afraid of his reaction. Which is cute and understandable. Justin adds a little heart to the note left by his lover on the mirror and grabs a clean towel to dry himself. What should he do ? Confront Emmanuel right away and confess his feelings as well ? Or respect the humility with which his lover admitted his love, and not ask him about it ? Justin ties the towel around his waist and takes the hairdryer from the wall to dry his hair and try to discipline them. Of course it is not as good as he would like them to look, but it’s better than nothing. He looks at himself in the mirror, the steam vanished, and with it the sweet words written by his man. What should he do ? Say them back ? 

“Come on Justin, man up !” he whispers to himself “You can do that.” 

He will say those words to Emmanuel. He is convinced he can do that. And he owes him to. With Sophie it took him months to finally say them, but with Emmanuel, everything seems different. Everything goes faster, especially since they can’t see each other as much as they’d like to. He goes out of the bathroom with that idea in mind and finds Emmanuel lying on the bed, wearing a clean pair of black trunks. He is on the phone with someone, that Justin identifies as Brigitte, given Emmanuel’s tone, and the sorry look he gives Justin when he sees him. The Canadian sighs and abandons the idea of reciprocating the “I love you”. Now is clearly not the time. And after, he will not have the guts anymore to do it. While his friend finishes his phone call, he gathers his belongings and starts dressing back up. Emmanuel stops him before he puts his shirt on and the President rushes to finish his call. 

“Sorry” he apologizes to his boyfriend as soon as he hangs up “I had to.” 

“I understand.” brushes off Justin whose mood has seriously decreased. 

Emmanuel takes his hand and the Canadian softens up. His partner did nothing wrong. And he will certainly not be jealous of Brigitte. That would be absurd. He can share. That is the terms of their agreement. 

“Have you ever met Barack Obama ?” questions Justin “I thought about that when I was in the shower…” 

“Is he a friend of yours ?”

“A good one, yes.” 

“I had the privilege of talking to him over the phone before my election. But I never met him in person.” 

“Would you like to ?”

“Maybe. That could be interesting.”

“I’ll have to see and try to set up a lunch for us three. He’ll like you so much !” 

He chuckles and Emmanuel glances at his phone on the nightstand to check the hour. 

“Do you really have to go ?”

“Yes, love. I have to go. We both need to rest before tomorrow’s breakfast and meetings. You have a long day ahead… And I need to sleep…” 

“Maybe you could sleep here ?” suggests the French. 

“You know this is a terrible idea. Although I’d like that very much.” 

He steals a kiss from Emmanuel’s lips and escapes from his arms to put his shirt on. He buttons it and puts his jacket as well, adjusting the sleeves, and collar, in a nervous gesture. The PM feels the weight of the unspoken words between them, and it is a heavy burden to carry. But he can’t. Not now. Despite Emmanuel’s eager eyes. 

“I’d like to stay all night, believe me.” he says against the lips of his partner kissing him goodbye “I’d really like to. I’ll never grow tired of spending time with you. I care so much about you Emmanuel. I… I…” 

He sighs. He tried. But he couldn’t. Emmanuel closes his eyes to dismiss the deception. He believed Justin was about to reciprocate those words he wrote. But maybe the Canadian doesn’t feel that way. Or maybe, like him, he is too shy to say them out loud. Maybe it’s not for them. Emmanuel caresses Justin’s cheek and kisses him tenderly. He understands. His lover doesn’t have to say it. It doesn’t matter. 

“I’m sorry.” mutters the Canadian PM.

“I don’t mind. It’s alright.” assures Emmanuel in return “Now you go. Or I keep you here for the night…” 

“Hmm I wish.” 

Justin pockets his cellphone and checks he hasn’t forgotten anything else. He kisses Emmanuel three more times before leaving, and wakes up his security officer who was dozing off in the hallway of the hotel, waiting for his return. 

“Time to go, Bart !” he says with a smile “Sorry to keep you waiting.” 

The officer doesn’t answer, and Justin arranges his hair in the elevator mirror on their way down to the hotel lobby. Justin’s car is waiting for him in front of the entrance, just down the few steps, and his chauffeur, warned of their arrival by the security guard is ready to open the rear door for him. Only a couple of steps to make, and he will drowse during the ride back to his hotel. As soon as he passes the door, he realizes his mistake. Three journalists, covering the French President’s trip in the US, and preparing their report for the French news are watching him exit the hotel, his hair still damp and messy, clean-shaven, in the middle of the night… Four cameras take pictures before he climbs into his car and he swears loudly when inside. 

“Fucking journalists ! What do they think they can get with those pictures ?!” 

The question was rhetorical, and his officer doesn’t even dare to respond. Justin is no longer tired, and he needs to call Emmanuel. He draws his phone out of his pocket and he video calls his boyfriend. 

“Missing me already ?” asks the French with a cheeky voice. 

“We are busted.” answers Justin severely “And I am not alone.” 

“What do you mean we are busted ?”

“The journalists covering your trip, they saw me leaving. And trust me, I saw the disbelief and surprise in their eyes.” 

“Do they have pictures ?” questions the President.

Justin nods and they both sigh. They avoid looking at each other. They were reckless. And after the initial rumors about a potential romance between them sparked after their getaway in Brégançon, they should have been more careful. Justin should have left through the back door. Or more discreetly. 

“What do we say ?” finally sighs Emmanuel.

“The usual ?” suggests Justin. 

“We worked late, we had dinner, we discussed and got carried away ? Fine for me. What did we discuss ? Syria ? Environment ?”

“Cultural Preservation.”

“Good. You’re better than me at this, honey. What about the shaving ?”

“Fuck. I had forgotten about it… Hmm… I was feeling worn out after a long day of meetings and freshened out before meeting with you ?”

“Works for me.” 

They smile at each other and try to imagine the headlines of some gossip tabloids in the coming weeks. The rumors are so unbelievable that their families are not believing them, but they still, sometimes have some explaining to do to journalists. And that is the trickiest part. But if they set their story straight, everything should be fine. Justin glances at his security officer, ignoring him, but hearing every single word of their conversation. Can he really trust him ? Will he be able to keep the greatest secret of his life ? After all, this is the most trustworthy one he has at his service. 

“Emmanuel ?” says Justin lowering his eyes “I am sorry about earlier, I know you were expecting something from me, and you should know that saying those words is something difficult for me and…”

“Wait. I expect nothing. You don’t owe me anything.” 

“Shut up for once, and listen.” cuts Justin.

“Saying those words is something difficult, it took me months to express them to Sophie in those exact terms. And I hope I showed you how much you mean to me and how important you are for me, even if I can’t say it…”

“You did.” nods Emmanuel “You did a hundred times. I need nothing more. Besides, I didn’t say them either.” 

“True.” 

They chuckle and Emmanuel adds : 

“I should go, I still have a shower to take.”

“My advice : fill the room with steam, it might be interesting.” 

He winks at his boyfriend and Emmanuel smiles at him. 

“Good night Justin.”

“Good night Emmanuel.” 

Justin hesitates for a second, and then he adds : 

“I love you.”

A true and sincere smile lightens the face of his partner and the French answers : 

“I love you too Justin. So much. Have a good night.”

Justin ends the call, and realizes his cheeks are red, and hot. He needs to cool down. He puts his phone away, and gazes into the distance for a while, before turning to his friend, and bodyguard. The man does not dare look at him but Justin says : 

“Bart. Bart, look at me please.”

The man looks up and Justin says : 

“What happened here tonight needs to stay between you and me. This is a secret I entrust you with. No one else but you can know.”

“Understood.” nods the man “I won’t say a word.” 

“Thank you. And to answer your questions : I know this is awfully wrong, I still love Sophie very much and I have no intention to leave her.” 

“I wasn’t going to ask, Justin.” smiles his officer “This is your life, and your choices.” 

“And my mess to fix.” concludes the PM. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooo... For those who feel they have already read this, more or less. It's because it's a rewrite of an OS I wrote on another account. (It's called Inspired by a song, I'll let you look for it). 
> 
> About the chapter : the shaving ? The jealousy ? The sex ? And then the full-on hesitation about saying those little three words ? What's your opinion on how it went out ? The journalists ?  
> Next chapter is the dinner at the Trudeau's residence, before the G7. How will that go ? Will Emmanuel behave ? What about his jealousy ? How about Sophie ? 
> 
> Last but not least, if you are interested, I wrote a COMPLETELY UNRELATED piece about Emmanuel and Edouard Philippe enjoying boxing practice together. It's extremely steamy and kinky, if you're interested it's here --> https://archiveofourown.org/works/24130117


	12. June 6th 2018 - Ottawa, Canada - Just close your eyes and enjoy the rollercoaster that is life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter arrives a bit earlier than expected - but I can't wait for you all to read it, because you have all been so impatient to read how Emmanuel and Sophie will act around each other. And also because I'm finally free of my university exams so I'm officially in HOLIDAAAAAAYS ! So yay, let's celebrate !
> 
> \----
> 
> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.  
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 11 : Stand by me (I have a personal preference for the Skylar Grey version, but any version would do, really)

Emmanuel has been on edge ever since their plane landed in Canada. He is now in the car, with his wife, on their way to the Trudeau’s residence for the friendly dinner they will be having. Justin insisted on the word friendly countless times. And it has been stressed out in public news as well. The Macrons are being hosted by the Trudeaus as friends before the G7 summit due to happen in a couple of days. There were still a few rumors going around, mainly on Internet, about more than a friendship going on between Justin and Emmanuel, but it had somehow calmed down. Emmanuel is fidgeting, nervously tapping his fingers on his knee, which is infuriating his wife. 

“Hey,” she starts “Could you stop that ?” 

“Sorry.” he apologizes immediately “I am a bit nervous about all this.” 

“I know.” she smiles “You are crushing on him, aren’t you ?”

“Me ? Why would you say that ?”

Emmanuel decided to play dumb, to see if his wife really suspects anything, or if she’s simply teasing him. But his heart skipped a few beats when she said he had a crush on Justin. This is so much more than a crush. And yet she can never know. Because it will hurt her so much, and he doesn’t want that to happen. He loves her. He loves her and he loves Justin. Paradoxical but true. 

“Come on darling,” she smiles “you are completely star-struck by him. The last time I saw you acting that way was when you had Obama on the phone during your campaign.” 

“Except I don’t crush on Obama. He’s clearly not my type.” 

“So you do crush on the handsome Justin Trudeau ?” 

She tricked him, and she succeeded. He doesn’t answer, but takes her hand and plays with her wedding ring. Their couple is strong, and she fears not. Her husband is faithful in his feelings, and even though he sometimes is attracted by strong personalities, he loves her more than anything in the world. And he proved that to her many times already. When the car parks in front of the house, between the row of journalists and the porch, She turns to him and says : 

“Try not to jump to his neck, okay ?” 

They laugh and Emmanuel kisses her before going out of the car. Sophie and Justin are waiting for them on top of the stairs, but Emmanuel waits for his wife, and he takes her hand, intertwining their fingers to get up the stairs. 

“Emmanuel !” exclaims Justin “A pleasure to see you !” 

The Canadian drags his friend in an embrace that lasts slightly longer than it should, and he then proceeds to introduce his wife : 

“It is a pleasure that you finally get to meet my wife, Sophie, in person.” 

“I am delighted.” grins Emmanuel. 

They kiss each other on both cheeks, and Emmanuel introduces his wife who warmly greets them both. They pose for the photographs, the four of them together, then only Emmanuel and Justin as Sophie and Brigitte went inside the house. 

“Do you want to go down and talk to them ?” questions Justin “I believe they expect some sort of ‘I am so happy to be here In Canada’ sort of thing…” 

“Five minutes ?” suggests The French President. 

“Not one second more.” replies Justin with a huge grin leading the way down the steps. 

Both of their security services have moved alongside them, shielding their sides as they were approaching the press. They spend the next five minutes talking to the journalists about the excellent relationship they have, and how their countries work well together thank to this.

Inside the house, Sophie Trudeau makes all she can to welcome the French First Lady. She heard a lot about the woman, and both of them are equally impressed by the other. The Canadian one is wearing a black jumpsuit, with a pair of high-heels. Mrs. Macron opted for a pair of jeans and a marine blue blouse, with a golden pattern on the sleeves, and equally-high heels. Casual but chic at the same time. Both Justin and Emmanuel were wearing suits, but they agreed beforehand to let go of the ties and jackets before dinner. The Trudeau kids are waiting in the living-room, eager and impatient to meet the French presidential couple they heard so much about. Justin took them aside two hours ago, to help them change clothes and get ready for the dinner, he reminded them of how proud he was of them being polite and well-behaved, and that he hoped they would do well in front of his friends. 

“Please, Brigitte, is it okay if I call you Brigitte ?” starts Sophie “Come in. Make yourself home, we are delighted to be having friends around.” 

“Brigitte is fine.” she smiles “Thanks, Sophie.” 

She passes by her and enters into the room. 

“Good evening” she says to the children looking at her with curiosity “I’m Brigitte.”

“Are you Emmanuel’s wife ?” asks Xavier frowning at her.

“Oh” she reacts with a smile “I see you know my husband, young man. And you must be Xavier, I imagine ?” 

“It’s me.” confirms the young boy extending his hand to greet her “Nice to meet you Mrs. Macron.”

“Oh please, call me Brigitte.” she chuckles “You look a lot like your father, you know ?”

“Everyone tells me that.” answers Xavier. 

“Hi, I’m Ella-Grace” says the daughter of the Canadians greeting the First Lady after her brother “Nice to meet you.” 

“Nice to meet you too, Ella-Grace.” 

Too shy to say hello, the youngest son of the Trudeaus is still hesitating to come forward when Emmanuel and Justin come back inside, chatting and laughing together. They already dropped their jackets, and Emmanuel is untying his tie and Justin loosening his own. 

“Didi,” says Justin immediately noticing his son in a corner “be a nice boy and say hi to our guests, please. They won’t eat you, you know.”

He adds towards his guests : 

“Excuse him, he tends to be a little shy around strangers at first.” 

“Our grandson is just about the same.” says Brigitte. 

“Good evening Xavier.” says Emmanuel shaking hands with his boyfriend’s son “Good evening Ella-Grace.” he adds shaking hands with the young girl. 

Hadrien reluctantly comes forward and shakes hands with both guests, and then hides behind his father. Justin picks him up from the floor and keeps him in his arms while he speaks with his friends. Sophie has vanished, but she is probably in the kitchen, checking on the dinner. The kids helped set the table in the dining-room before the arrival of the Macrons and they are now back around the coffee table, playing Jenga. Justin keeps a wary eye on them, but they are good for now, and after letting Hadrien go back with his siblings, the three adults go see Sophie in the kitchen. The woman says to her husband : 

“Have you asked them yet what they want to drink ?” 

“I brought a bottle especially for this occasion,” replies Justin to his wife “if they want to try something typical and deeply Canadian.” 

He is grinning from ear to ear and the French couple exchange an amused grin. Justin passes by Sophie, his hand on her waist, and he grabs a bottle on the top shelf above her head. He plants a kiss on her cheek before turning back to his friends and carefully avoids the jealous gaze of his boyfriend. He didn’t do that on purpose, he just acted like he always does around Sophie. But he realized it was a mistake when the piercing blue eyes of Emmanuel met his own. He hands the bottle to Brigitte, so she can read the label and Emmanuel reads above her shoulder. 

“Sortilège ?” he frowns “Really ?” 

“Whisky and maple syrup” explains Sophie “It may seems weird, but it is really good. And the most Canadian thing you’ll taste here.” 

Justin hides a nervous chuckle by clearing his throat. This is definitely not the most Canadian thing Emmanuel will taste while here. The French has slightly blush, but no one seems to have noticed. 

“Let’s try that, then.” says Brigitte “I’m always up for trying new things.” 

“Wonderful.” nods Justin “Emmanuel ?”

“I’m drinking whatever you’re offering.” 

“Okay. Soph’ ?”

“Sure. While you’re back in the living-room, you should ask the kids if they want to drink something, honey.” 

She steals a kiss from his lips and the Prime Minister brings his guest back to the living-room. The kids are still playing, and while Justin looks for glasses to serve drinks, Emmanuel approaches them and asks : 

“Can I play with you ?”

It startle the kids but they nod and make some space for the French President to sit with them, on the floor, next to the table. Justin turns around to hand Emmanuel his glass but he notices his friend is gone. He frowns and Brigitte says : 

“He is playing with your kids. Look at him…” 

The Canadian nearly let the glass slip between his fingers as he watches his boyfriend carefully remove one piece of the Jenga tower under the amazed eyes of his children. 

“Don’t let him know I told you that,” says Brigitte to Justin “but I think he really likes that game. Our grandchildren, Camille and Paul, really like playing Jenga with their grandfather.”

It takes a few seconds to Justin to realize that Emmanuel is the said grandfather. 

“I always forget he is a grandpa already.” jokes the Canadian “But that explains why he is so good with the kids.”

“I heard that.” says Emmanuel smiling at his friend “I told you that not being a dad wasn’t a problem to understand children. I’ve got more experience than you in that field.” 

“How many grandchildren do you have ?” asks Sophie arriving to join them. 

“Seven.” answers Brigitte “From my three children.” 

“May I ask, if not too personal,” continues the Canadian woman “how was Emmanuel welcomed by your children ?”

“I was in class with Laurence, her second-born,” explains the French President still very focused on the game he is playing “so I had a privileged insight into the family from the beginning…” 

He laughs and his wife continues their story. Justin brings his drink to Emmanuel and their fingers touch for a second as he takes the glass. They smile at each other and Justin asks his kids what they want to drink before dinner. Sophie is very interested in the Macron couple, having heard so much, and yet so little about them. She read what the press said about them, but having them talk for real is a completely different thing, and they are much nicer and down-to-earth than what the media led her to believe. Just what her husband told her, in short. Ella-Grace is mesmerized by the skilled fingers of the French President, efficiently removing the tiles of the tower, without even marking any hesitation. Xavier is helping his little brother, in order for them to go as far as possible in the game, and when Justin comes back with their drinks they all take a much needed break. Emmanuel tastes the special beverage and is pleased to realize that it is sweet and not that strong. 

“You see,” laughs Trudeau “I told you it was good !”

“It’s… drinkable.” answers Emmanuel joking and laughing. 

It is much more than that. Really good even. Brigitte and Sophie are discussing how Emmanuel came to marry his wife, and the struggles they faced at the beginning of their relationship. But the French woman is also telling the Canadian one how much valuable Emmanuel was for her, both with her kids and grandchildren, and during her divorce. The more she talks, the more she depicts a very strong and balanced couple, which destabilizes slightly Justin. Are they really both endangering their marriages ? Do those incredible women deserve this ? The children and Emmanuel got back to the game, and Ella got a little too ambitious, and the whole tower collapsed, making everyone laugh. The President helps them rebuild the tower, and he gets back up to let them play on their own. He joins his wife, and passes an arm around her waist, by habit more than anything. 

“And you two ?” questions Brigitte “How did you come together ?”

“I knew Justin from when we were kids,” starts Sophie “I was a schoolmate of one of his brothers. But we lost touch.”

“We reconnected years later.” completes Justin “We were both adults, we had lived quite a few things already, and it felt like an evidence. She was the right person for me at that moment of my life. And I am glad, every single day that God makes, that we crossed paths again.”

“Cute.” whispers Emmanuel. 

Justin heard and he discreetly smiles at his boyfriend. The situation is not ideal for them, but they will try to make the most of it. When the Jenga tower falls for the third time, Sophie calls her kids and asks them to go wash their hands for dinner. 

“How old is your youngest ?” asks Brigitte to Justin. 

“He’s four.” answers the man. 

“He is adorable.” adds Emmanuel “And his big brother, Xavier, he really cares for both his siblings.” 

“We have that chance of having the three of them really bonding together.” explains Sophie “Of course, they sometimes argue and fight, like all siblings do, but in the end, they are pretty much united and independant. But we have to take care of their smart mouths sometimes…”

“Emmanuel saw that already.” laughs Justin “Xavier was… quite frank with him the first time they saw each other on camera, I was mortified.”

“And I told you it was nothing.” brushes off Emmanuel “Really. Your kids are really nice, all three of them.”

As the children of the house are coming back with their hands clean, the Macrons ask where they can wash their hands, Justin points at the restroom down the hall, “third door on your left”, and as Brigitte walks down there he takes Emmanuel by the shoulder and says : 

“Come with me, there’s another one in that part of the house. I’ll show you your bedroom at the same time.” 

Justin waits until they are out of sight to shove Emmanuel against the wall, and having double-checked that no one is coming, he steals a kiss from his lips. 

“Fuck” he groans “I really wanted to do that…” 

“You are crazy !” whispers Emmanuel “What if one of your kids walks on us ?”

“They are forbidden to set a foot in this part of the house.” explains Justin “The only one that might come is Sophie, and we would hear her come. Now, follow me, I have a bedroom to show you, and you have hands to wash.” 

They are back at the dinner table ten minutes later, after a few more secret snuggles, but chatting as if everything was normal. Nothing can give them away, they made sure of that. Emmanuel even arranged the collar of Justin’s shirt that was messy and he also fixed his hair, always impeccable looking. They take their seats at the table, Emmanuel between his wife and his lover, which is highly disturbing for him. 

“Very nice decoration !” exclaims the French President picking up his name card “Who did that ?”

“I did.” answers Ella blushing a little.

“It is beautiful,” smiles Brigitte at the young girl “you are a talented young girl.” 

All three children pitched in to help their parents into preparing this dinner, and Justin can’t help but proudly smile at them. His hand is dangerously close from Emmanuel’s fingers on the table, and he quickly removes it when he realizes that his instinct and subconscious might make him do something very stupid. Instead, he whispers to his wife : 

“You’ve done enough, I’m taking care of the meal.”

“As you wish.” she replies “Scream if you need help” she adds.

Justin comes back with a huge tray on which are several verrines and bowls with different types of bread. 

“We opted for something simple and quite friendly.” he explains placing it in the middle of the table “I hope you weren’t expecting a dinner like the one I had the chance to have the last time I came to France.” 

“It was a state dinner, Justin.” laughs Emmanuel “And we had pizzas and beers the following day, so I wasn’t really expecting anything.” 

“We pride ourselves on receiving our guests with homemade meals. Except when we are having formal receptions of course, but friends ? We spend time in the kitchen…” says Sophie with a smile on her lips. 

“This looks delicious, Sophie.” says Brigitte. 

“Oh, I have nothing to do with this. I prepared the rest of the dinner, Justin took care of that.” she replies pointing at the whole tray in front of her. 

“I had help.” minimizes the Prime Minister with a grin. 

“Who helped ?” asks Emmanuel. 

“I did.” says Hadrien “With the tomatoes, and to toast the bread !” 

“I helped too !” adds Xavier. 

“I helped Mom with the dessert.” concludes Ella. 

“Team effort it is then.” says Brigitte very impressed by the family dynamics “We don’t have the chance to cook for ourselves much anymore, but maybe we should try to get back to it.” 

“Going back to a normal life will be so difficult, when it comes.” confirms Emmanuel nodding to his wife. 

“Please help yourselves,” says Justin “I’ll get the wine.” 

He comes back with a bottle of white Argentinian wine and before opening it he double-checks with Emmanuel. 

“I’m no expert, but I ruled out French wine, not to make any mistakes…” 

“You really need to take lessons about wine, Justin.” laughs the French “That could prove useful, in the future. You can open the bottle, that should be alright.” 

“Thanks.” 

Their fingers brush against each other when Emmanuel hands the bottle back to his boyfriend and they do their best to hide the trouble it provokes in their brains. Justin, with the help of both his sons, prepared three different verrines : one with tomatoes and a parmesan panna cotta, one of typical Canadian yellow split pea soup, and the last one of chicken and avocado with grilled bacon on top. It is delicious and they all try the different types of bread with them. 

“I might ask you to cook more often, honey.” says Sophie to her husband “This is really good.” 

“If I had more time, you know I would. But you have two young boys here, more than ready to help !” 

Both of their sons nods vigorously and the proud parents smile at them. 

“And I am sure Ella would try something else than cakes now and then…” adds Justin with a smirk “Even if I love my daughter’s cakes.” 

The little girl smiles and Emmanuel offers to help Sophie bring back the empty verrines back to the kitchen. In the meantime, Justin engages with Brigitte on something he knows they have in common : 

“I know you met Emmanuel when you were his teacher,” he says to her “do you miss teaching sometimes ?” 

“All the time.” she laughs “But I quit that quite some time ago now… And to be honest, I should have quit earlier…” 

“Quit what ?” asks Emmanuel coming back to his seat. 

“Teaching.” answers Xavier who has been very attentive to the conversation much to his father’s surprise “Although she didn’t say why…” 

Justin closes his eyes for a second, keeping for himself the nasty remark he was going to say to his quite-rude son but when he is about to tell him that this is none of his business, Brigitte Macron is quicker than him to talk again : 

“Teaching has never felt the same after I met my husband, and maybe I should have changed job after that.” 

“My father was a teacher too, you know.” says Ella-Grace “But it was a long-time ago…” 

“A very long time ago.” corrects Justin “But yes, I used to be a teacher, before I even met Sophie.” 

“What did you teach ?” asks Brigitte genuinely interested. 

“French, a bit of Maths at first, when I substituted. Then I taught Drama for a couple of years…” 

“Very interesting !” she exclaims “How did you come to take a teaching position ?” 

“I don’t know how much Emmanuel has told you,” starts Justin “but I have a degree in literature, and then I pursued into teaching studies. I thought that giving back was something meaningful to me, and at that time of my life, it was something I was really passionate about. And I always had a good relationship with my students… I believe I was perceived as the cool, young, easy-going teacher…” 

“Or you like to believe you were !” jokes Sophie kissing him as she takes her seat back next to him. 

“I’m sure you were an excellent teacher, Justin.” assures Brigitte “Why Drama ?” 

“Growing up as the son of a Prime Minister that is rarely at home, you find great pleasure in reading a lot of books, and I always kept that interest for literature up to my student years…” 

She smiles at him, and a feeling of mutual understanding passes between them. Emmanuel suddenly realizes that maybe he didn’t fall for them both by accident. They have much more in common than he thought. 

“And you ?” asks Ella-Grace to the French woman “What did you teach ?” 

“Much like your father,” answers Brigitte “French, literature and drama.” 

“And you ?” asks Xavier turning to Emmanuel “Were you a teacher to ?” 

“Oh no. I’m not really good a teaching, I was a banker, for powerful and important companies…” 

“That sounds boring.” says Ella-Grace with a smirk. 

“I have to admit,” laughs Emmanuel “that being President is much more interesting.” 

“How long have you been President ?” questions Hadrien timidly. 

“A little bit more than a year now.” smiles the French President.

“Cool !” exclaims the little boy. 

“And you ? What would you like to be when you grow up ?” asks Emmanuel to the youngest son of his lover. 

“Hmm…” hesitates Hadrien. 

He looks at his mother and she gives him an encouraging look. 

“I’d like to be a chef. Or an astronaut. Or a pirate…” 

Justin nearly spits out his wine because of the last one and it makes everyone laugh. A pirate. What a silly idea ! Well, not too silly considering it is coming from a four-year-old… Still grinning, Emmanuel asks the same question to Ella-Grace. 

“Maybe a teacher,” she answers “or a veterinarian. Or a TV host, like my mom…” 

She blushes slightly, and Justin glances at Sophie. Their daughter is adorable. 

“What about you, Xavier ?” interrogates Brigitte. 

“Well, I’d like to see if I can be a basketball player, and if that doesn’t work out, something to do with nature, maybe a park ranger, or a mountain guide, something like that…” 

Emmanuel saw Justin’s face turn to white, and they look at each other. Memories of the very difficult conversation about Justin’s brother come back to Emmanuel’s mind and he discreetly nods at his boyfriend, letting him know that he understood the trouble. He knows that Justin will never stand in the way of his son’s dream or career, but the idea of having him living his life on the outdoors, pursuing a relatively dangerous style of life is not made to reassure him. Sophie also the the hint of trouble in her husband’s eyes, and she discreetly passed her fingers on his hand, to let him know that she was here for him. 

“Xav’,” she says “Come help me get the main course, please.” 

They bring back a whole fish in a crust of puff pastry, rice, and diced vegetables whose sight makes Hadrien cringe immediately. 

“Why do we always have to eat vegetables ?” he sighs to himself. 

“Hadrien,” calmly says Justin “we discussed this. You know how it goes…”

“I know…” loudly sighs the little boy “No vegetables, no dessert…” 

It makes his siblings giggle and the Canadian Prime Minister gets up to serve another round of wine while his wife cuts the fish to be able to serve it to their guests. Once everyone has their plate full, with little vegetables for Hadrien, they start eating. It is really good, like everything they’ve been eating here, and it pairs well with the wine. 

“The wine,” says Emmanuel “was a good choice.” 

“It was pure luck.” answers Justin with a chuckle “I really need lessons on that.” 

“I’ll teach you the basics if you want.” smiles the French President. 

“That could be interesting.” says the Canadian Prime Minister. 

They smile at each other and seal that deal with a little nod. Xavier, the very open-minded, and slightly too smart-mouthed son of the Canadians tries his luck to his father : 

“Dad ? May I taste the wine ?” 

“Absolutely not.” answers Sophie before her husband “You are way too young for that. But points to you for trying…” 

She winks at him, and he winks back. Apparently, it’s not the first time he tries. But he still is a bit young for this. 

“The fish is excellent as well.” indicates Emmanuel “What’s the sweet taste ?” 

Justin looks at him in disbelief and the French realizes his idiocy. Of course. Maple syrup. This isn’t a myth that the Canadians cook everything with maple syrup, after all… 

“Maple syrup of course.” he adds “I should have guessed that. My bad…” 

They all laugh and Ella-Grace says :

“Don’t you have maple-syrup in France ?” 

“Unfortunately we don’t.” answers Brigitte “I’m afraid you are the only country in the world with this very unique thing. But your father was very kind to send my husband a jar for his birthday last year… And Emmanuel has a sweet tooth…” 

“Was does it mean, having a sweet tooth ?” asks Hadrien. 

“It means they’re going to rot in your mouth because you eat too much candy !” teases his older brother. 

“Enough, boys.” tells Justin “It means you like sweet things rather than salty ones. I also have a rather sweet tooth. Does it mean you liked it, Emmanuel ?” 

“I had to hide it, to keep him from finishing it with a spoon in his office.” laughs Brigitte “I guess you can say he liked it.” 

Emmanuel blushes and hides his embarrassment by drinking a sip of his wine. Each spoonful of maple syrup is worth three hours at the gym, and he lost count of the nights he spent on the treadmill trying to eliminate these excesses. At least he is a man who can work and exercise at the same time. But he doesn’t like to be exposed for his flaws, especially in front of the man he loves. 

“I’ll make sure to get you regular supplies of it, then.” laughs Justin deeply amused by this whole situation “You should have told me.” 

“The whole birthday package was a delight, Justin.” 

“Oh, you read the books ?” asks Sophie. 

“I had finished the plays before Christmas,” explains Emmanuel “I have to admit it was an interesting choice. I’m on my second reading of the other one, it’s my bedtime reading, which means I rarely have time to read it at all…” 

“You should really sleep at night and not be on the phone with my husband.” says Sophie. 

“That’s what I’m telling him all the time. But he’s a night bird, and I sometimes finds him deep down in international business at three in the morning, alone in his office, not having realized at all what time it is.” adds Brigitte. 

“Is this a women’s coalition ?” questions Emmanuel with a smirk “Because it awfully looks like it. I work late, I admit it, but Brigitte, you knew it long before we got married… That is in fact, one of the first thing you learned about me… Remember those nights we spent working on adapting those plays in high school ?”

“Oh my husband was so pissed at me for that…” she laughs “And we nearly got in so much trouble…” 

She shuts up, not wanting to dive further into the beginnings of their relationship, especially in front of strangers, and especially in front of the kids. But Justin and Sophie seem genuinely interested and now is a bit too late to unsay what they just started. 

“When I started seeing Brigitte,” explains the President “we were both invested in a high-school project of adapting a play to be performed by students. It led us to work late at night at least two or three evenings in the week, out of school hours, and it could have got us into trouble…” 

“Why ?” candidly asks Xavier. 

“Because teachers are not suppose to hang out with their students outside of school.” explains Brigitte.

“Pardon the question,” starts Sophie “but were you two already involved at the time ?” 

“One thing leading to the other, by the end of the school year we had developed a bond, yes.” nods Emmanuel. 

“And kissed.” adds his wife. 

“Okay, kids ?” says Justin to his children “This is a wonderful story, but don’t do that with your teachers, please. This is not really suppose to happen…”

“Your father is right.” immediately adds Emmanuel “What my wife and I share is exceptional, but it started as something forbidden. Don’t imagine this was easy, or cool, or a fairytale…” 

Xavier seems to have understood but his sister and brother are still too young to understand. But at least they will have heard about it once. 

“Does anyone wants more fish or rice ?” asks Sophie. 

Receiving a collective no, she brings the food back to the kitchen, with the help of her two eldest children. Hadrien takes advantage of that time to come on his father’s knees. Justin takes him into his arms, knowing that his son will likely doze off against his chest right after dessert. In the meantime, he cuddles with him, playing with the blond curls of his son while he talks to his friends : 

“I have to admit, your love story is quite unconventional.” 

“Sorry we have to explain that in front of the kids.” says Brigitte. 

“Don’t apologize, we pushed you.” replies the Canadian “Besides, they have to learn that life isn’t always a straight path.”

He gives a quick glance at his boyfriend after that sentence but quickly locks his gaze back on his son. 

“How did you and Sophie reconnect ?” enquires Emmanuel realizing this is a topic they never discussed together.

“We got paired to host a charity show together.” explains Justin “Of course she remembered me, I mean, I was the son of the Prime Minister, and we used to hang out when we were children. Or more precisely, she hanged out with my brother…” 

He pauses for a second, dismisses the thoughts about his deceased brother and continues. 

“It took me longer to recognize the young bright girl in the beautiful woman I had in front of me, but when it clicked, it brought back a lot of memories. After the show, we spent hours casually talking, having a drink, reconnecting. We exchanged our numbers and promised to see each other again, as good friends, that’s all.”

He chuckles and keeps avoiding the warm blue eyes of his boyfriend. He doesn’t want to read any jealousy while he tells that story. That’d pain him too much. 

“We saw each other a couple more times with mutual friends, but I felt like maybe I should try my luck and ask her out. It took me a couple of weeks but I eventually invited her for a dinner, at a nice restaurant, that was our first proper date, and since then we’ve been together. I proposed almost immediately, and we got married the next year…” 

“That was fast.” states Emmanuel with a voice colder than he wanted it to be. 

“When you know, there is no time for hesitation.” answers Sophie coming back at that exact moment “Neither of us hesitated really. We weren’t that young anymore, we knew we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together, and we were already talking about having kids…” 

Only then she spots her youngest son in his father’s arms. 

“What are you doing here, you ?” 

“Leave him.” says Justin “I’ll keep him with me for dessert.” 

Emmanuel, disgusted by the display of affection demonstrated by Justin needs a minute to cool down. He did his best to hide his discomfort, but he can’t do it anymore. He spent a whole minute clenching and unclenching his fist under the table, but that didn’t help. His jaws are hurting from too much grinding and he feels like his head is about to burst. 

“Excuse me, I need a minute.” he says getting up. 

“Third door on your left.” reminds Sophie as he leaves the living-room.

Justin noticed how tense his boyfriend was, and he knows exactly why Emmanuel was like that. But with Hadrien in his arms, he can’t do anything, and certainly not rush after him. Anyway, that would be weird, considering everyone thinks Emmanuel went to the restroom. The French President comes back a minute later, giving a quick glance at his secret-lover to let him know that he is okay. Ella-Grace and Xavier are bringing dessert to the table at the same time. 

“Blueberries pie” proudly announces the girl “and chocolate mousse, because Dad loves chocolate.” 

“And I made cookies with Hadrien, this morning.” adds her brother placing a box on the table. 

“This looks delicious.” chuckles Justin. 

“Chocolate enthusiast ?” teases Emmanuel. 

“What can I say ?” answers the Canadian “My daughter sold me out. Luckily for me, I do enough sports to compensate for my cravings…” 

“Look at you both,” says Brigitte “one craving for chocolate, and the other one eating maple syrup straight out the jar… You really found yourselves ! No wonder you got best friends so quickly !”

It makes the children laugh, and each person gets a little bit of each dessert. Justin shares his own with his son, trying to eat as much mousse he can before his son beats him to it. Luckily for him, Hadrien is not as fond of pie as he is of other treats, and Justin can at least eat that without too much disturbance. Both men are the first one to be done with dessert, and Justin looks at Emmanuel with a grin. 

“Do you want more ?” 

“If you don’t mind, I’d love to have another slice of that pie.” replies his boyfriend “It is delicious.” 

“Give me your plate then.” 

Justin asks his son to stop moving so that he can serve his friend, and he puts another slice of pie in Emmanuel’s plate. 

“Can I have one too ? Please Dad ?” asks Xavier 

“Sure. Hand me your plate. Anyone else ?” 

“I’m good.” says Brigitte 

“I had enough.” adds Sophie “Especially if I want to fit into my dress for the summit.” 

“I’m sure you’ll look incredible.” says her husband “You always do.” 

“What are you going to wear, Mom ?” asks Xavier 

“The new pink dress I received, you know the one I set aside in my dressing.” 

“Oh… You look hot in this one, Mom !” exclaims Ella. 

“Thanks, sweetie.”

Sophie blushed slightly, but Justin smiles at her, and kisses her tenderly on the cheek. She does look incredible in that dress. And she will look really good next to him. A hot and powerful couple. Hadrien is starting to fall asleep in his arms, a half-eaten cookie still in hands. Justin carefully removes the biscuit from the little fingers of his son, and he adjusts his arm, to support Hadrien’s head so that he doesn’t fall over, with the other one around his waist, to keep him securely against him. He did that in a couple of seconds only, and Emmanuel has been watching the whole time. 

“You’d be amazed by the ability my son has to fall asleep in the most inappropriate places.” explains the Prime Minister catching his friend’s interest “He fell asleep at Canada day, when was it, last year ?” 

Sophie nods and Justin continues : 

“This was an important anniversary for our country and Prince Charles was there, with his wife, so we were sitting front row, it was long and the kids rapidly got bored, and Hadrien was extremely young.”

“There are a bunch of pictures on the internet,” completes Sophie “of him drinking his baby bottle, and then falling asleep, first on his seat, and then into my arms.” 

“Oh I remember that day !” exclaims Ella-Grace “He also removed his shoes, and it took us ten minutes to find where he put them !” 

“Yeah, well… That’s the kind of mischiefs your brother is always up to.” chuckles Sophie Trudeau. 

“That’s a bit of a spice up, if I understand well.” laughs Brigitte. 

“Oh it sure is.” says Justin “We are lucky to be part of the few who have young kids while on the office.” 

“Is it really a lucky thing ?” wonders Emmanuel. 

“Barack Obama, didn’t seem to live it badly. But his daughters were older. And our Queen raised four children all the while ruling an entire Kingdom… I’d say it’s not that bad. What do you think, Soph’ ?”

“I’m glad we have kids. It keeps our days full, and it keeps us down to Earth, when we could easily get crazy with all that is going around.” 

“That might be the hardest part. Keeping our heads straight.” laughs Emmanuel “And we don’t have kids to keep ourselves down to Earth. Well, not on a daily basis I mean…” 

They laugh and Emmanuel takes his wife’s hand on the table. Justin noticed but doesn’t say a word. His friend seems to have dismissed all of his previous tension. Xavier and Ella are starting to drift off, exhausted by their long day, and bored by the grown-ups conversations. 

“Time to go to bed now.” says Justin to his son and daughter both fighting against sleep.

“Can’t we stay a bit longer ?” tries Ella.

“Please Dad ?” asks Xavier. 

“You heard your father,” adds Sophie “besides, both of you are already dozing off. And Hadrien has been sleeping on your father’s knees for half-an-hour now. Time to say goodnight and to go upstairs…” 

The kids sigh deeply, marking their insatisfaction, but they wave goodnight to the French, and kiss their father on the cheek, before going upstairs. Sophie gets Hadrien back from Justin’s knees and she goes upstairs, making sure all three kids are going to sleep. Justin keeps looking at her until she’s out of sight, and then he turns back to his friends. 

“Sorry, they are insufferable when it comes to bedtime. Especially when we have guests.” 

“I understand.” says Emmanuel with a grin “Elise, my granddaughter, always tries to bargain with us when we’re in charge of putting her to bed.”

“Let me guess… You always end up giving her extra time ?” jokes Justin. 

“All the time.” says Brigitte rolling her eyes “He’s a softie. He doesn’t know how to say no. Especially when she uses her puppy eyes…” 

Emmanuel blushes slightly, and Justin gives him a tender glance. He finds it really cute. Of course his boyfriend is a soft one. Would he ever have doubted that ? 

“Coffee ? Tea ?” asks Justin “Something stronger ?”

“I’m up for tea.” says Brigitte. 

“I need something stronger, I think.” adds Emmanuel “Whatever you have.” he adds answering the next question from his partner. 

“Whisky it’ll be then. I’ll be back in a minute.”

He vanishes into the kitchen and Emmanuel turns to his wife, taking advantage of this time when they are on their own. 

“How are you feeling ?”

“Extremely good. I knew Justin beforehand, he is delicious as always.” she replies “And Sophie is a wonderful person. She is a strong woman, and an incredible mother. And have you seen how she looks at her husband ? This is adorable !” 

Of course Emmanuel has seen that. More than once even. But he made sure to focus on something else, because his jealousy towards Sophie rocketed tonight, and he really don’t want to be sending wrong signals to anyone. Emmanuel smiles at his wife and kisses her chastly. Justin comes back at that moment, a bottle of whisky under the arm, a box with tea bags in one hand, the kettle in the other. He places everything on the table and looks for mugs and glasses in the cabinet behind Emmanuel, his bum dangerously close from his boyfriend’s face. 

“Do you really have to shove your ass into his face ?” jokes Sophie coming back down at that moment.

“Sophie !” exclaims Justin clearly shocked. 

But she is laughing and he hands her the mugs and glasses he got out. She places them on the table, and he pours whisky for him and Emmanuel, while Sophie pours hot water for Brigitte and her. Before sitting down, Justin opens the first two buttons of his shirt, exposing a bit of skin. Emmanuel does all he can to not let his eyes wander on this patch of skin, but he knows what is still hidden, and he wishes he could see more. He keeps his eyes fixed on the bottom of his glass, to avoid meeting Justin’s blue eyes. 

“Are the kids asleep by the way ?” asks the Canadian to his wife. 

“The boys are, Ella was reading a book, but she should be asleep by now…” she answers. 

“It has been a pleasure sharing a moment with them.” says Emmanuel “Other than by video, I mean… You too Sophie, video doesn’t do you justice.” 

He smiles at her and she smiles in return.

“How come I don’t see you much around, Brigitte ?” asks Justin “Emmanuel is always wandering in the Palace, from the piano to his office and back, or running between meeting rooms, but I rarely see you on his path…” 

“I work mostly from the shadows.” she explains “And we have terribly unmatching schedules. It’s either that or my husband deliberately avoids me when he is talking to you !” 

That was intended as a joke but Justin nearly chokes on his drink. Emmanuel sends him a dead-stare and laughs at his wife’s joke. 

“You have to admit that our house is big, and we are working in two completely different aisles.” he says “So we rarely bump into each other. And with jetlag, I usually have Justin on the line in the evenings, when you’re out, or when I’m alone in my office.” 

“Or playing piano. I can hear that, you know.” she smiles. 

He has been playing more often these past months, both to express his feelings in the best way he knows how, even if no one is hear to listen, and also because it helps him relax and focus on more important matters afterwards. 

“Do you only play piano ?” asks Sophie.

“I used to know how to play guitar, but it’s been hell of a long time.” answers the French President “But I’d like to get back to it someday. When I’ve got some more free time maybe.”

Justin’s making the liquid turn in his glass, and he gives an eloquent look to his boyfriend that Emmanuel know all too well. He is a little bit angry that he never mentioned to him playing guitar. 

“Well,” says Sophie “Music is not really Justin’s thing. He is a great dancer, I can’t take that from him, but music he never got a real good ear from it…” 

“Thank you very much for that.” mutters Justin under his breath. 

“Come on, honey,” she says passing a hand on the back of his neck, playing with his hair “You know we are not really artistic much. However… On a boxing ring…” 

She laughs and Justin smiles again, but he escapes Sophie’s fingers. Emmanuel counted in his head. He let her mess with his hair only for eight seconds. Which is not very much, considering all the years they have been married. 

“Justin’s a boxer,” she explains to Brigitte “when he’s not busy being a Prime Minister, a husband or a father.” 

“I know,” nods the French woman “Emmanuel told me. And you Sophie, what are you more into, sports or arts ?”

“A bit of both, to be honest. But I tend to lean more towards sports lately. I need to keep fit and athletic, given how hectic and messy our lives can be.” 

“Don’t get me started on this !” laughs Brigitte in response “Hectic is the word.” 

“That’s what you get when you marry a President, darling.” says Emmanuel. 

“Except you weren’t President when I married you, and you were barely even talking about it.” she tells him “But I married an ambitious man, one who fights for ideas and ideals, and who will never stops believing he can change the world…” 

“Can I ? Change the world ?”

“Only if you manage to keep your nerves in front of Donald.” calmly states Justin. “Unfortunately it looks like we can’t do anything without him those days. To think that Barack was so easy-going, and that I could just call him and talk to him, directly, but now…”

“The infamous bromance between my husband and his American counterpart was one of a kind.” jokes Sophie “Almost like the one developing between you two. Justin mentioned earlier you still had some work to do, tonight ?” 

“We do.” confirms the President.

“Good thing then,” says Brigitte “because jet lag is killing me, and if none of you mind, I think I will go to bed.” 

“Of course.” says Sophie “No problem, I won’t be long either anyway, I’ll let our husbands to their work. Come with me, I’ll show you your room.”

Before she leaves, she turns to her husband and asks : 

“Justin, do you know if they brought the luggages in ?” 

“I had the security team make sure their suitcase was in their room.” 

Brigitte kisses her husband goodnight, and once she’s gone, Justin answers the silent question of his boyfriend : 

“There is a backdoor in the part of the house in which you are sleeping. I asked your team to bring your stuff in that way.” 

Sophie comes back ten minutes later, and she stays behind Justin, her arms around his neck, her head resting on his shoulder. 

“Do you think you’ll be long for work ?”

“A couple of hours, at least.” answers Justin “Don’t wait for me. Please.” 

“I’ll read for a while, but I won’t wait on you, then.”

“Thanks. And sorry. But you know how it goes…”

“I know. Do you mind finishing clearing the table before you two move into your office ?” 

“I’ll do it. Go upstairs before I change my mind.” 

She kisses him with a little more passion than she should in front of anyone, and she wishes a goodnight to Emmanuel before going upstairs into her bedroom. Justin waits until he hears the door of his bedroom close to whisper to his boyfriend : 

“Sorry for that. She always gets really affectionate in the evenings…” 

“She has no shame, and no intention to hide her love for you.” simply shrugs Emmanuel “That’s a good proof of love.” 

The two men bring the empty mugs back to the kitchen, and Emmanuel helps Justin load the dishwasher. Justin then pours them another glass of whisky and they walk to his office, down the hall to get to work, but first, to share a moment together. Justin closes the door of his office behind Emmanuel. He kisses him chastly, his lips barely touching the man, but he is soon away again from his boyfriend. The French President feels deprived. He has waited all evening for them both to be alone. Of course he wasn’t expecting for them to jump on each other and have sex like beasts, but he wished they at least kissed a little more than that. The Canadian Prime Minister places his glass on his desk and looks for something on the bookshelf behind him. Emmanuel stays where he is, observing, admiring the wonderful ass, trapped in the suit pants, and the broad muscled shoulders that he can guess underneath the pale shirt. 

“Here it is !” exclaims the Canadian “Come here.” 

Emmanuel approaches and his boyfriend opens the photo album he drew from the bookshelf on the desk. He puts an arm around his boyfriend’s waist and says to him : 

“I thought that you might be interested in seeing some pictures. The younger me, the one you don’t know yet.” 

“Interesting idea.” 

Justin nests his head in Emmanuel’s neck, his chin on the man’s shoulder, and they look at the pictures together. 

“I don’t have much pictures. My mother have most of them, but this album is a pretty good sum up of my life.” 

“Let’s see what we have, then.” 

“Here are my parents, not long before I arrived.” 

“You didn’t take that much after your father.” notices Emmanuel.

“I’m a good mix between my parents, just like my brothers.” 

They navigate through the next pictures, and the French President discovers his lover as a smiling cheerful baby. It puts a huge smile on his face and Justin keeps turning pages, traveling with him down the memory lane. Emmanuel stops on his birth certificate, intrigued by his other names…

“Justin Pierre James ?” he says “I would have imagined something much much more original.” 

“My parents went classical on that point, I’m afraid.” chuckles the PM “What are yours ?”

“Emmanuel, Jean-Michel, Frédéric.” states the French President “I forbid you to say anything about it.”

Justin raises his hands in the air as a sign that he would not have anyway and they keep looking at the album. There are a lot of childhood pictures, in which Emmanuel recognizes the unmistakable curls from his partner. The three little boys are very similar, and extremely cute. Close to their parents, up until the divorce. Then, Justin mainly has pictures with his father, and he explains to his boyfriend that his mother has most of the pictures of them with her. Then, they pass to Justin’s high school graduation, and the haircut is a strong debate between them. 

“Come on,” says Emmanuel “You have to admit this was… unbelievably cute.” 

“It was messy. I couldn’t even get the hat to stay put on my head properly. It was all but cute.” 

Emmanuel goes for a kiss, but Justin escapes at the last moment, focusing on something else. The French President wonders why he is refusing that contact, and he tries to turn around to face Justin, but the Canadian got him securely locked in his arms, holding him so he can’t move. They keep looking at the pictures, of Justin’s young years around the world, then as a teacher. The double tragedy that hit is family is kept under silence, but the faces, otherwise radiant on the pictures are starting to become more serious, a little nostalgic. And the little brother is the first one to disappear. And then the omnipresent father. Justin has to take a break then, before moving on to the part of his life when he met Sophie. This time he completely frees Emmanuel and grabs his drink, finishing it bottoms up. 

“Sorry.” he says “You know how much of an unresolved issue my father is for me.” 

“I know.” 

Emmanuel takes his hand, but Justin withdraws it, as if electrified by the touch. 

“I’m sorry.” he immediately apologizes, placing his hand back into his boyfriend’s hand “It’s simply… I mean… It’s weird having you around here. In my space, in my home…” 

“Do you want me gone ?” seriously asks Emmanuel. 

“Don’t be silly. I don’t want you anywhere but with me. I am simply a bit… baffled by all this.”

“Then why haven’t you kissed me properly since we’re just the two of us ?”

“Oh… Oh.” 

Justin realizes his mistakes and approaches Emmanuel. His free hand comes on the cheek of his partner and he calmly and tenderly strokes the skin before leaning forward and pressing his lips against the mouth of Emmanuel. The French wraps his arms around Justin’s neck, keeping to himself a moan that was birthing on his lips. This is what he calls a proper kiss. One that means something. They then resume their review of the photo album, with the wedding pictures of Justin and Sophie, and then the maternity pictures of the children, alongside the political debuts of Justin. 

“Thanks for sharing this with me.” says Emmanuel, smiling at him as Justin closes the album. 

“You are welcome. I thought you’d like to see those pictures.” 

“It is an interesting dive into your past, Justin. And a way to understand the man you grew up to be. And I like that man…” 

A true smile illuminates Justin’s face and he sits on his office chair. Emmanuel sits on the edge of his desk, taking his hand in his. 

“You know,” starts Justin “I really appreciated seeing you interact with my kids tonight. I somehow had forgotten that you were a grandpa already, and that you had experience with kids.” 

“I feel old, thank you.” chuckles the President.

“I like the grandpa side of you, Emmanuel. It is a side of you we are not used to see in your public life, but it is adorable.” 

“Thanks. I have a lot of love to give you know…”

“Pardon the question, but I need to know… Have kids always been off the table with Brigitte ?” 

“We discussed it in the early stages of our relationship, but given her age, and my youth, and the fact she already had three teenagers at home… It wouldn’t have been wise to try and throw a baby in the middle of this mess…” 

“But you, would you have wanted that ?”

“I don’t know. Not really. I wanted to build a life with her, that was all that mattered at the time.”

“I understand.” 

Emmanuel mindlessely placed his fingers around Justin’s wedding ring and the Canadian lowers his eyes on it. 

“Trying to say something with this ?”

“Sorry. It is big, my fingers ended there by accident…” 

“By accident ?” jokes Justin. 

He removes his hand from Emmanuel’s one and takes the ring off of his finger. It slides easily and his boyfriend frowns at him : no one should be able to take off its wedding band that easily. Unless they remove it on a regular basis. 

“I have to take it off for boxing, love.” explains Justin “Don’t look at me like I’m some kind of monster. Give me your hand.” 

Emmanuel extends his hand and Justin places the ring in the open palm of his lover. 

“Here you go. Take a good look at it, so your curiosity will be satisfied.”

“I… I mean… This is very… Personal and…”

“And you are curious.” cuts the Canadian with a grin.

“I am.” admits the French.

He inspects the ring, looking at the engraving on the inside, with Sophie and Justin’s initials and the date of their wedding. He then gives it back to Justin who positions it back on his finger. 

“Do you realize that at one point, we’ll have to sit down and work ?” sighs Emmanuel “As much as I love to spend time with you, we have commercial propositions to review before tomorrow afternoon.” 

“I know. Let me enjoy your presence, as my boyfriend, for one more minute. Please.” 

“Can I get a kiss then ?” 

“Only if I get to call you grandpa !”

“You bastard !” 

They laugh and exchange a sweet kiss. Emmanuel then reluctantly takes place on the other side of Justin’s desk, and the Canadian pulls his glasses from the drawer of his desk. He turns on the lamp between them, and opens the various contracts that they are suppose to review together. Tomorrow afternoon, in Parliament, Emmanuel will meet with several organizations and has been charged by his Ministers to bring back with him ambitious commercial agreements. Justin has worked on those contracts beforehand, annotating the first draft that Emmanuel sent to him, adding comments, pieces of advice, and cultural information that might influence the decisions on both sides. They work like that, leaning over the desk, extremely close to each other, tempted to exchange kisses from time to time, but keeping focused on their work, for two hours. When they are finally done, the moon is high in the sky, and the whole house deeply quiet. Everyone must be sound asleep by now, and they should go to bed as well. Justin gives a quick look at his wristwatch and sighs. 

“I am going to be so tired tomorrow…” 

“What time is it ?”

“Ten past one.”

“Then you should go to bed, my dear Mister Trudeau.”

They smile and Emmanuel takes him by the hips to kiss him once more before they part ways. 

“Is it okay ? You’ll find your way back to the bedroom ?” asks Justin turning off the lights behind them. 

“I will. Goodnight Justin.”

“Goodnight, Emmanuel…”

They were still holding hands, and they have a hard time letting go of each other. Emmanuel is the first one pulling away, and turning at the corner of the corridor, to go into the guests bedroom. Justin rushes upstairs, as silently as possible to go to bed. Sophie is probably only half asleep, being only able to truly doze off when he is with her, and he doesn’t want to keep her from waiting any longer. 

Emmanuel silently opens the door. Brigitte is sleeping in their bed, as predicted, and he kisses her on the forehead as he passes by the bed. He does not turn on the light, he doesn’t need to. He is used to strip off in the dark anyway, usually joining her in the middle of the night, when he works late. He unbuttons his shirt, looking at the garden, in the moonlight, between the curtains that his wife hastily closed. Flashes of Justin playing with his children in that garden come to his mind and he tries to dismiss them. But he’s seen the pictures. He has seen the happy faces, the smiles, the united family. And he feels like an idiot. Who is he to come in the middle of this ? Who is he to seduce Justin, and drag him away from his wife ? He stands there for a while, only wearing his underwear, not feeling good enough to join his wife under the sheets. Everything is messed up in his head, and he feels like a walk could do him some good. 

Emmanuel finds a pair of sweatpants in his suitcase, and he puts them on, he adds an old t-shirt, and a pair of sneakers. He opens the bay-window as silently as possible not to wake up his wife and he goes out in the garden of the property. He needs some fresh air, some time to himself, some time to think. He feels extremely guilty for being here, for kissing Justin, for having an affair with the man. Sophie is really surprising and incredible, and Emmanuel is ashamed to betray her, especially under her own roof. She deserves better. Who is he to be stealing her husband like that ? This question keeps turning in his head like a mantra he can’t get rid of. 

In his bedroom upstairs, Justin is stripping down to go bed, Sophie half-asleep in their conjugal bed, waiting for him to arrive. He took a while in the bathroom, freshening up a bit before coming back to his bedroom. He is about to join her when his phone buzzes on his nightstand. It’s his security service. Which can only indicate an emergency given the extremely late hour. 

“Sorry to bother you Sir.” apologizes the security officer “We have movement in the garden, do you want us to check on it ?”

Justin frowns, but his instinct dictates him to check by the window first. He gives a quick glance and recognizes the silhouette of his boyfriend in the moonlight. Emmanuel is walking away from the house, wandering, and Justin knowing him by heart, he probably didn’t even think about taking a jacket with him. 

“I’m going. It’s the French President. Thanks for letting me know.” 

“No problem Sir. Do you want us to turn on the outside lights ?”

“No.”

Justin hangs up and kisses Sophie on the forehead. 

“Don’t wait on me, darling. I have something to do.”

“What’s this about ?” she mumbles half-asleep.

“I don’t know yet.” 

Justin who is only wearing his underwear pulls on sweatpants, a pair of sneakers, a warm sweatshirt and he grabs two university bombers in the hall of his house before going out running after his boyfriend. 

“Good Lord, Emmanuel !” he exclaims catching up with him and throwing one of the jackets on his shoulders “We are in Canada, and even if it’s summer, it’s cold at night, you are going to freeze to death. Please put that on.” 

Emmanuel puts the jacket on and zips it up. It smells like Justin and it feels warm and cosy. That helps. But he still hasn’t said a word. 

“How did you know I was here ?” he finally sighs. 

“We have motion sensors in the garden.” explains the Canadian “My security team let me know someone was wandering around.” 

“And you knew it was me ?”

“Who else ?”

They are walking together, further away from the house. Justin is okay with the cold, but Emmanuel is shivering, and Justin puts the second bomber on his shoulder to keep him warm. 

“You really are an idiot.” he whispers “An idiot that I love dearly.” 

“Stop that.” 

Emmanuel escapes and steps further away, not wanting to hear those words from him. Not here. Justin passes a hand through his hair and joins him. He calmly checks that all lights are still out in the house, and all curtains drawn, and he takes Emmanuel’s hand in his own. 

“You should not do that.” says the cold sharp voice of the French 

“Manu’... What are you doing to me ?” 

The French hasn’t withdrawn his hand though. He even tightened his grip slightly. He needs Justin, he is in love with him. And at the same time he wishes he wasn’t. Because this is really unfair to both of their wives, and it is something unbearable to him. 

“I’m not sure I can’t do that anymore, Justin…” he sighs “I love you. I love you madly. But Sophie. And Brigitte… They deserve better.” 

“Love,” says Justin placing a hand on his boyfriend’s cheek “I know that situation is not ideal. And I am sorry if I led you to believe we were doing something wrong earlier tonight. Because all I know, and all I can think of is that we are in love. And that I don’t want to lose this.” 

“We are doing something wrong.” states Emmanuel. 

They both sigh. Of course it is wrong. Awfully wrong even, but can they fight these feelings they have for each other ? Do they want to ? Justin leans and kisses Emmanuel. This is the only way he knows to express his love for the man he holds close to him. And like each time, Emmanuel lets himself go in Justin’s arms, and he kisses him back with passion. Under the moonlight, in the very cold Canadian night, they kiss until short of breath, proving to each other, that no matter how wrong their relationship is, they can’t deny it. 

“We are so fucked…” whispers Emmanuel “So fucked.”

“I know. And believe me. I know how wrong this is. And not one day goes by during which I don’t feel guilty about Sophie. I love her, I love her so much. She is incredible, she is a real sunshine, and I am the luckiest man on Earth to have married her. But I am also incredibly lucky to have you, love, because you make my heart beat like never before, and I get the chance to live an incredible love-story with you…”

“I love you so much Justin.”

Emmanuel kisses his boyfriend and he sees Justin flinch as he looks at the house behind him. The French turns around and sees a light in one of the room upstairs. 

“Xavier,” says the Canadian Prime Minister “Going to the bathroom, as usual. Let’s just hope he doesn’t get the silly idea of observing the night sky through his window.” 

“Are we that visible ?”

“Yes, we are.” smiles Justin “And I really want to kiss you again.” 

He waits until the light goes out in the house and he kisses Emmanuel violently, his arms around the waist of his partner, pulling him closer. 

“I’m not sure our wives would love to hear us fuck in the garden, you know.” says Emmanuel pulling away from Justin’s embrace with all his strength. 

He felt that familiar warmth grow in his lower belly, and he’d rather not get an erection, right here and now. 

“Are you feeling better ? Less guilty at least ?” says Justin. 

“Yes. Sorry, for worrying you.” 

“Next time, you could send a text instead of going out and freezing to death. Keep the jackets, you’ll give them back to me tomorrow.” 

“Thanks, honey. Are they yours ?”

“Both of them, yes.”

“They smell like you.” smiles the French President as they are walking back towards the house “I like that.” 

They part ways and Emmanuel walks through the bay window of his bedroom, with a last look for his boyfriend. He gets rid of one jacket, but keeps the other one on his shoulders. He removes his sneakers and gets under the sheets with his wife. She senses his presence and snuggles against him. Her hand stops on the bomber jacket he is wearing and she frowns. 

“I was cold. Justin lend me one.” he whispers as an explanation “But I’m here now. Keep sleeping.”

Little does he know that she also recognized the smell of that jacket. She smell it on her husband before. And in the back of her brain, unconsciously, connections are establishing. Justin and Emmanuel. Emmanuel and Justin. 

The next morning, Emmanuel finds his wife already up before he is. He realizes he slept with Justin’s jacket on, and that maybe this wasn’t the brightest idea he ever had. Brigitte is in the bathroom next door, under the shower, Emmanuel hears the water running. He gets up and takes his face into his hands. He slept well. Better than he thought he would. And the amazing smell coming from the bomber he has on his shoulders is probably not for nothing in this. And that makes him feel guilty. He removes the jacket, and looks for clean clothes in his suitcase. He pulls out a clean suit, with a light grey shirt, and sets aside a tie that he will only wear in the afternoon. Casual in the morning with Justin, working President in the afternoon. Before dressing up he goes into the bathroom to shave and finds Brigitte out of the shower, wrapped in a towel. 

“Good morning.” he says to her “How did you sleep ?”

“Okay.” she answers a bit too quickly.

She kisses him, but with no passion and immediately leaves him alone in the bathroom, going back in their bedroom to get dressed. This is unusual. She is by habit much more tactile and loving in the mornings, especially when they are not in a rush to get ready. Emmanuel is still reflecting on this while he shaves and takes a quick shower. When they meet again in the bedroom, she is wearing a pair of skinny jeans, and a lovely pink blouse, one that Emmanuel adores. He leans towards her and kisses her tenderly. 

“I like what you are wearing, darling. It suits you well.” 

“Hmm.” she answers, not really paying attention.

“Are you alright ?”

“I am. Go have breakfast, I’ll join you in no time. And bring Justin’s jackets back, please.” 

“Sure.” 

Emmanuel puts one on his shoulders, and takes the other one in hand as he exits the room to go have breakfast. He hangs one in the main hall, and enters in the kitchen. Sophie is finishing preparing coffee, when she hears footsteps behind her. She turns and recognizes one of her husband’s university jackets from the corner of her eye.

“Hi Ju…” she starts “Oh. You're not my husband !” she exclaims realizing her mistake. 

“Sorry, I am not.” says Emmanuel removing the bomber jacket and placing it on the back of the chair in front of him "Good morning Sophie. Justin had to lend me one of his jacket to keep me warm, I'm still not used to the idea of Canada being that cold. May I help you with something ?" 

"Breakfast is ready," she says with a smile "help yourself, Justin is having a shower, he'll be down in a minute. The kids are still asleep, but that won't last for long, you should enjoy the calm while it lasts. Did you sleep well ?"

“Like a baby.” says the French President. 

“Good.” she says “We don’t have that much friends sleeping here anymore. The whole pressure of power, you know…”

“I understand, trust me. And you have that chance of having Justin not entirely working from here.” says Emmanuel leaning against the doorframe “I work from my house. So work and private life are constantly mixed, and this is a burden to keep a proper balance.” 

“I imagine.” 

Justin arrives just behind Emmanuel at this precise moment, but given the space occupied by his boyfriend, he can’t enter in the kitchen without asking him to move, or having to pass by him, their bodies touching more than he would to. He had to cool down under the shower, trying to not think too much about the two love of his life presently under his roof at the same time and he somehow managed to not feel over excited by the idea. 

“Good morning.” he says. 

Emmanuel jumps in scare and swiftly enters in the kitchen to free passage for his friend.

“Morning !” he answers “Thanks for the jacket, I was really really cold last night.” 

Justin smiles at him and gives him a discreet wink. He places his hand on Emmanuel’s shoulder to greet him, and then turn to his wife, whom he kisses dearly on the lips. 

“Coffee is ready ?” asks the Canadian Prime Minister. 

“Sure.” she says “So is breakfast.”

They both look up at the ceiling, hearing heavy footsteps above their heads, they look at each other and nod, saying at the exact same time : 

“Hadrien.” 

Emmanuel is extremely surprised, but they are right, and the little boy, still half-asleep, emerges in the kitchen two minutes later, heading straight for his mother’s arms. Brigitte Macron joins them at this moment and she hugs Emmanuel from behind, an arm around his waist, the French President adding his hand on hers. 

“Weren’t you supposed to have breakfast ?” she whispers to her husband. 

“I was waiting for you to arrive.” he answers “Are you alright ?” 

“I am.” she says brushing off her uncertainties of the morning “Let’s have breakfast with our hosts.” 

They all take place around the kitchen table, Hadrien waving at them from his mother’s arms. By habit, and because they shared a lot of working breakfasts before, Justin mindlessly prepared Emmanuel’s coffee, just like he likes it, without him asking and he only realizes when he hands him his mug. 

“Sorry.” he apologizes shaking his head “Work gets me wired in unsuspected ways.” 

“Thank you, Justin.” laughs Emmanuel internally delighted by the attention.

He couldn’t help but notice that the Canadian prepared his coffee but not Sophie’s. And that is a sign of something for sure. The only problem is that everyone else also noticed. 

“I cleared my morning,” explains Justin “I was thinking of taking you both on a tour of Ottawa, unless there is something else you’d like to see. We have a Museum of Nature that is worth-visiting if you don’t know much about our beautiful country. Which I suspect you don’t given that you packed t-shirts to come here, Emmanuel !” 

The joke makes them all laugh and Emmanuel blushes slightly. It’s true. He should have packed light sweatshirts and jumpers, not t-shirts. 

“Seems a good plan to me.” nods Emmanuel. 

“Without me,” says Sophie “I’m staying here with the kids.”

“I’d like to stay here with you Sophie, if you don’t mind,” adds Brigitte “I believe that you and I have a lot in common, and I heard that you were doing quite a lot of charity work, and I’d love to hear more about that. Besides, I think our husbands have plenty of things to discuss…” 

Emmanuel froze on his seat. This last sentence was like a whiplash. She is suspecting something. Justin and him exchange a panicked glance and Emmanuel takes her hand on the table. 

“I think it is a wonderful idea, honey. But if you want to come with us, you are welcome to.” 

“I’ll stay with your wife.” says Sophie “Don’t worry, Emmanuel, I’ll take great care of her.” 

“Morning !” says Ella-Grace that no-one heard arriving into the kitchen.

“Good morning, baby girl !” answers her father.

“DAAAD !” 

He smirks and she nonetheless hugs him. He keeps her on his knees so that the last chair stays free for her big brother and she asks for toasts. The plate is on Emmanuel’s side of the table, and instead of handing it over to his friend, the French president asks the young girl what type of jam she’d like on her toasts. He prepares a couple of strawberry jam toasts for her and gives them, before turning to his wife. He takes her hand, under the table, and whispers to her : 

“Should we talk ? Are we good ?”

“I don’t know.” she replies whispering to him “Is there something you’d like to talk to me about ?” 

Fuck. Why here ? Why now ? What did he miss ? What happened ? How did he give himself away ? How did she found out ? Emmanuel finishes his toast and says to his wife : 

“I’m going back to our room, finish packing, before we leave.” 

She joins him three minutes later, and finds him sitting on the bed, not at all packing like he said. He has both hands on his knees, and he is looking straight at her. She closes the door and crosses her arms on her chest. 

“Did you have sex with Justin yesterday ?” she asks immediately. 

“No.” he answers. 

Technically, this is not a lie. They didn’t have sex. But they wish they had. 

“Did you had sex with him at the dinner we had at the Elysée ?” she asks.

“No.” 

Once again, this is not entirely a lie. They did kiss. But they didn’t have sex. 

“Look,” she sighs “I don’t know what sort of wicked relationship you two have, and I am not sure I want to know. But you deserve better than that, Emmanuel. Justin is blatantly over the moon about Sophie, and have you seen him with his children ? You are making a fool of yourself if you think you can get anything from him…”

“He’s a friend.”

“With benefits ?”

Emmanuel bites his lips. Should he admits ? Should he admits he cheated on her ? Should he pretend she doesn’t already know ? She is smarter than him, by far, and she didn’t corner him in their room without a reason. 

“Don’t get emotionally involved, that’s all I’m saying…” she finally says. 

And she starts gathering her clothes and packing their suitcase, without a look for her husband. Emmanuel sighs, very aware that his marriage is only holding on because she chooses to look this other way. He gets up and stops her in the middle of what she was doing. 

“Darling, please.” he says “I love you. More than anything in the world, you know that, right ?” 

“I know. And I also know that you are very much attracted to your best friend, probably kissing him behind closed doors, if not more, and I can’t do anything against it if I don’t want to lose you.” 

“What is, or is not happening with Justin, changes nothing between you and me. Nothing. You are my dear, lovely, exceptional wife. And you will always come first in my heart, and I’ll do anything for you…” 

“I know. And I know that whatever fling you might be living, it won’t last. Because you may be bisexual, but your best friend definitely isn’t. And Sophie isn’t as compliant as I am...” 

“You won’t tell her ?”

“Who do you think I am ?”

They smile at each other and exchange a soft kiss. Crisis averted for now. Emmanuel doesn’t deserve her. She has always stuck by his side, even when he has been the worst husband ever. And what he did to her is a motive for divorce. And she should be screaming at him, throwing objects at him maybe, but no, she decided to let him realize by himself how wrong this was, and how mistaken he was. Deep down, she is convinced that Justin will soon realize that he can’t get involved in such a thing, and that he will end all things with her husband. She just have to wait. Wait and see. She loves Emmanuel too much to divorce him simply for that. She knows him : he always gets all excited about something new and slightly unconventional, and then his interest fades away, and it remains something he liked along the way of his life. They finish packing, in silence, and before coming back to their friends, Emmanuel takes her by the hips and kisses her with a lot of passion. 

“Thank you for being so understanding.”

“I know you, Emmanuel. I know this won’t last. And I know this is one of your silly ideas. Besides, I have to honestly admit that Justin is absolutely irresistible…” 

This joke makes them both smile and they come back to the kitchen in which Justin is waiting on them, on his own. They are holding hands, and the Canadian looks at them with a smirk. He was afraid they had been fighting, but apparently they are on good terms. 

“Still decided on staying here ?” he asks Brigitte. 

“Very much, yes.” she replies “If you don’t mind.” 

“I like strong and independent women.” jokes the Canadian “Sophie and you will get along really well, I am really glad we all have so much in common…” 

“Indeed.” she nods.

“By the way,” adds Justin turning to his boyfriend “Where’s the second jacket ?” 

“I hanged it in the hall this morning.”

“Thanks.” smiles Justin “We’ll be out in a minute, I’m just waiting for Xavier to wake-up. I don’t want to be gone before he gets up.” 

“That is really cute.” comments Brigitte “Do you get the chance to walk them to school sometimes ?”

“At least twice a week.” answers Sophie arriving behind them with her youngest son still in her arms, and her eldest behind her “I only let him run for Prime Minister under these terms. It has always been very clear between us, that our family should always come first, no matter what.”

“And you know how much I value that.” answers Justin dragging Xavier into a hug and kissing him on top of the head.

“Dad stop !” complaints the boy “Not in front of people…” 

He pulls away from his father’s arms and grabs a chair at the breakfast table. He waves at the guests, looking at him with an amused face. Emmanuel sees so much of Justin in this little boy. Xavier resembles his father physically, and just like Justin, he seems to need a little bit of time to really wake up. 

“Time to go, boys.” says Sophie giving a gentle slap on her husband’s arm “Bart has been waiting for you at the door for the last fifteen minutes already.” 

“Hmm… True. Thanks. See you later, honey.” 

He kisses her on the lips, and the French president does the same with his own wife. The both take their suit jackets in the hall, where they put them in the waiting of going out, and Justin opens the entrance door for his friend. As predicted, Justin’s bodyguard is waiting just next to the door, and he shakes hand with both of them. 

“I’ll see my officers, but I’ll join you in your car.” indicates Emmanuel “I won’t be long.” 

Emmanuel leaves instructions for half his security team to stay at the Trudeau residence, and for the other half to escort them, in a second car on their visit. He then joins Justin in his own car, in which the officer named Bart is also seated. The screen between the driver’s seat and the rear of the car is up, and Emmanuel closes the door behind him. 

“Just so you know,” immediately says Justin “I let the press know we were on the move. The museum knows we are coming. We’ll give them good pictures and stories to tell, but they’ll stay at a good distance, okay ?”

“Fine for me.” nods Emmanuel.

He wishes he could tell Justin that his wife knows more or less about them, but they are not alone. Emmanuel keeps checking the seemingly indifferent security officer, and Justin picks that nervosity up. 

“Bart ?” calls the Canadian “I’d like you to formally meet Emmanuel. Not as the President of France, but as my boyfriend. Emmanuel, you can relax, he knows.”

“How does…” 

“I was in the car when he told you he loved you.” explains the officer with a smile “Took him long enough, in my opinion. And don’t worry, I am as silent as a grave. Your secret’s safe with me.” 

“Thanks.” says the French sighing in relief. 

Emmanuel takes Justin hand in his own, and as they are driving through the city, he tells him : 

“My wife has suspicions about us. She plays dumb. She chooses to not see the obvious, I believe she thinks it is a fling of some sort, and that it’ll pass me. A sexual attraction merely. But she knows that we are closer than we should…”

“Oh.” 

Justin frowns. He feels guilty about this, Brigitte is a sweet woman, and he is stealing her husband. 

“She also thinks you are hundred percent straight, and that you are too attached to your family to engage into anything serious with me anyway. That after a couple weeks it’ll fade away, and that you’ll go back to Sophie, with not a single look back to me.”

“You know that I am not going to do that, right ?”

“I know. But my wife doesn’t… And that is for the best.” 

They exchange a quick kiss, keeping in mind that the windows of the car are not completely dark, and they might be spied on. But still, here, in this car, they are safe. Safe enough to live their love at least. 

“I need to know,” says Macron “how much do you want to mess with the journalists ?”

“Just be yourself, it’ll wreck them. Two handsome and powerful men, having a tour of a museum together, chatting, laughing, cracking jokes ? They will get crazy…”

“What about your wife ?”

“She likes you very much. She told me that, this morning. She thinks that you are a wonderful friend to me, and she is convinced that our friendship is really one of a kind. She doesn’t mind rumors, she knows they are lies. And that my love for her is indestructible...” 

None of them dares to add anything to that statement. It is both true and false at the same time. Of course Justin is madly in love with his wife, and he shows that to her everyday, but he fell in love with someone else nonetheless. Which he still hasn’t fully understood how it can work. Aren’t you supposed to only love one person with your whole heart for the rest of your life ? Can you really love two ? Will he have to make a choice at one point ? This terrifies him, but for now he decided to put those questions aside and enjoy everyday as it goes. 

“I work there. Up the hill.” indicates Justin pointing at Parliament Hill “My office is in the East Wing over there.” 

“What about the yoga practice under your windows ?” jokes Emmanuel noticing a lot of people on the grass practising several kind of exercises.

“It’s a meeting point for many, the real heart of the city, and I have to say it is very pleasing to have beautiful people with so few clothes on during summer, just below my office…” 

Emmanuel’s jaw drop, not being able to say if Justin is joking or not. He turns to the security officer to have a clue but the man says : 

“Don’t ask, we’re not allowed in his office.” 

“I’m joking, love. Partially at least. I sometimes like to have lunch, sitting on the windowsill of my office, looking at the life on the hill, waving at the rare people who dare to look up.” 

“What a view it must be !”

“For me, or for them ?”

“Both !” 

They laugh and Justin keeps showing his boyfriend around through the capital city of his country. He is so proud of making him discover his universe, and he hopes that Emmanuel appreciates them sharing this moment together, especially the sweet gestures they share : hands touching, fingers locking, stolen kisses, hands in each other’s back, tugging each other’s locks of hair behind their ears…The car stops in a pathway next to the museum, and Justin turns to his boyfriend. 

“Ready to go ? This will be messy…” 

“I like messy. Do you think I can have a kiss before we go ?” 

“Bart ?” asks Justin “Could you make sure the car is shielded from view ? Give us five minutes of intimacy, please ?”

“Will do, sir.” 

The officer leaves the car, and Justin waits a dozen of seconds before taking Emmanuel’s face in his hands and kissing him like the world was ending. He was hoping to do this since the morning, and both of them have a really hard time keeping this passionate but controllable. Emmanuel’s hand grasps Justin in the back of the neck, tugging on some hair, pushing him closer against his mouth. 

“You do know that I hate having you mess with my hair ?” says Justin panting and trying to catch his breath. 

“I got away with it longer than your wife. That’s victory enough for me, honey…”

“You are a devil, Emmanuel. A real devil.” 

“I know.” 

They laugh and kiss again, like teenagers, until they are short of breath. 

“Damn it, I missed that. And I will miss it so much in the coming days.” 

“We’ll find a way. I am sure there are a lot of rooms in the G7 facility.” 

“We’ll find a way.” 

They are interrupted by knocks on the car window, indicating that their mischief time is over. Emmanuel fixes Justin’s hair, and arranges the collar of his shirt, and the Canadian does the same for him. They exchange one last, very brief kiss, before opening each one of the rear doors of the car. They both step out, greeted by a small group of journalists, and Justin waves Emmanuel to follow him inside. They’ll answer questions in the museum, if they decide to do it. Their security services are already on edge, keeping a close watch on them, and keeping the press at good distance. Justin had clear rules passed to his team : ten meters at least between him and Emmanuel and the journalists, unless he instructs otherwise. They’ll only get pictures from afar, and they will certainly not be able to overhear what they are saying, which will be convenient in case any of them slips by accident. Which is what Justin fears the most. They are greeted upon arrival by the director and vice-director of the museum, who have been a bit surprised to be warned last minute of this visit. They offer to take them on a tour, but the Prime Minister kindly declines, offering to show his friend around, having a good knowledge of the museum as he came several time already with his children. 

“They will hate you for that, you know ?” says Emmanuel to his friend as they walk to the first part of the exhibits. 

“I know, and to be honest ? I don’t care.” he whispers cheekily. 

He winks at him and turns to their security teams, that are trailing them, a little too close to their taste. But there are people around, and they can’t risk anything happening to them. Most of the tourists that are visiting the museum are bewildered to see two head of states walking amongst them, almost as if everything was normal. Justin decided on a quick tour of the whole museum, including the fossil gallery, one of his son’s favorites. 

“My son is an absolute fan of dinosaurs.” he explains to Emmanuel. 

“Which one ?” 

“Guess, now that you know them a bit more…” smirks Justin. 

“I’d say Hadrien, Xavier doesn’t strike me as a dinosaur type of kid.” 

“He’s grown out of it, but he was very much into it, just like Hadrien is right now. You should have seen the smile on his face when I brought him a pajama with little diplodocus on it.” 

“A cute little boy.” 

They don’t stay long in that gallery, not being the most interesting one for both of them, Justin is way more eager to have his friend discover the endemic species of Canada. Which is exactly what he intends to do in the next gallery. 

“Before we go upstairs,” he asks Emmanuel placing his hand on his arm “have you ever seen a moose ?”

“Only in pictures, why ?”

“Do you have any idea how big it is ?”

“I don’t know, like a horse ? A reindeer ?” laughs the French President. 

Justin bursts into laughter and drags his friend along. His boyfriend is in for a giant surprise. Strangers are always fascinated by how big moose are in real life. They spend an awful lot of time in the mammal gallery, Justin explaining a lot of things to his friend, telling him jokes and anecdotes about many of the animals his friend had no idea even existed. As predicted, the moose is way taller than Emmanuel envisioned it, and the press, still covering their visit takes a lot of pictures of the French evaluating the size of the animal, his jaw on the floor, with a Canadian PM crying of laughter in the background. It makes no doubt that this picture will make the front page of many magazines in the coming weeks. They keep going and walk into the marine life exhibition. Once again, Emmanuel is impressed by his boyfriend, having so many stories to tell. 

“I feel like this would be the ideal spot to answer a few questions.” indicates the President as they are both looking up at the whale “To balance the pictures of me cracking up in front of a moose.” 

“You have better communication skills than me, I rely on you on that point. How many time do we give them ?”

“Fifteen minutes ?” asks Emmanuel checking his wristwatch. 

“Twenty at most.” agrees Justin. 

Emmanuel approaches his security team and asks them to let the press come to them, for a fifteen minutes interview. Justin stands next to him, and they exchange a friendly glance before taking the first question.    
  
“Mister President, what do you think about your visit to Canada so far, and what is the purpose of your visit here this morning ?” questions the first journalist. 

“I am delighted to be in Canada, it is my first official visit to the country, and I have to admit that it is a pleasant discovery so far. My wife and I have been welcome by Justin and his wife as friends, and we are eager now to start working. This morning, we decided on visiting this beautiful museum to help me understand why the Nature is at the heart of the Canadian culture and vision for the future, and why Justin choose to make it a priority in the upcoming discussions for the G7 summit.” 

“Prime Minister Trudeau, we rarely see you welcome other head of states in such a friendly manner, do we get that you and the French President share some kind of special connexion ?”

Justin looks at Emmanuel and smiles before answering. 

“Emmanuel and I are good friends, before being colleagues. We share the same values, opinions and have the same kind of politics. We have a lot in common, and are talking more often than not, so yes, I guess you can say we have some special connexion. As very good friends.”

Before anyone can ask anything else he adds : 

“If I may, I am extremely lucky to be friends with a man like him who is so open-minded and caring about the well-being of his people and his country. He is a man who is not afraid of taking harsh decisions when necessary, and I think we will be able to work well together at the coming summit.” 

Emmanuel did his best not to blush. Justin is insane : this was too much compliments, and the journalists are going to go crazy over them. They keep answering questions for ten more minutes and then they ask again to be left alone, at distance at least, and Justin drags his friend to the top floor, to see the arctic display. This is once again a good time of sharing and discovery for both men. They then go back to their car, in direction of Parliament hill. A working lunch is scheduled with Justin’s team, to introduce them to the French President and to talk about the negotiations to come in the afternoon for them about the contracts Justin and Emmanuel reviewed during the night. In the car, the two men are once again alone with Bart, but they don’t let themselves go into full boyfriend mode. 

“Did you plan on putting a tie ?” says Justin.

“Hmm hmm” nods Emmanuel “One of my security guards have it.” 

“That the least favorite part of my day, I have to say.” replies Justin drawing his own from the briefcase under his seat and expertly tying it around his neck. 

Emmanuel helps him adjust it, and when they leave the car, the French president immediately goes for his. He goes up the stairs, behind Justin, tying it without even looking, having done this same thing a million times already. 

“Welcome to my office, Emmanuel.” says Justin opening the door for him “Please come in.” 

They leave the security at the door, and they both switch into working mode as soon as they take their seats facing each other. Justin’s collaborators joins them, all excited to finally be meeting the French president they only had the chance to discuss with over the phone until now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think of this chapter ?   
> Emmanuel and Brigitte acting around the Trudeau couple ? With the kids ? The dinner ? Emmanuel light jealousy ? How they reconnect in Justin's office ? Emmanuel's night walk ? His insecurities ? How Justin reassures him ?   
> The "jacket incident" ? Brigitte's reaction ? The museum visit ? The journalists ? 
> 
> What do you expect next ? 
> 
> Just so you know, this chapter was pretty long, the next one is a much shorter one, but you'll enjoy it. Unless you're from belgium... In that case, in advance, I'm sorry ^^^(joking, I'm so not sorry !)


	13. July 15th 2018 - Moscow, Russia - Sharing a passion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.  
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 13 : Ramenez la coupe à la maison (VegeDream) / Magic in the air (MagicSystem) / La Marseillaise  
> (France’s national anthem) 
> 
> \-----
> 
> Two side notes about this chapter :  
> 1\. Please, if you are from Belgium, don't hate me. Or from Croatia, but usually, Croatians are fair-play.  
> 2\. Obviously, Brigitte was with Emmanuel in Russia, but for the sake of the fic, I needed her not to be. It's a little divergence from reality I took, I hope you'll forgive it.

Emmanuel reluctantly gets out of the locker room, to let the team celebrates more privately. He is still completely overexcited. They won. they won the World Cup ! This is insane ! Unbelievable ! He passes a hand through his soaked hair, and looks for his phone. But he handed his jacket to one of his security officer, and he can’t find him anymore. 

“Emmanuel ?” 

That Russian accent can’t fool anyone, Vladimir Putin is just behind him, waiting to greet him before departing. They shared this happy time, and the Russian proved to be extremely happy for his counterpart. And an avid football fan. 

“Vladimir.” he says shaking hands with the man “Thank you for letting me be here. This was spectacular.”

“When are you leaving ?” 

“My plane is waiting for me already.” explains the French “I unfortunately don’t have time to stay. But next time we see each other, we should try and talk over dinner.” 

“Let’s do that, yes.” smiles Putin “Until then, take care, Emmanuel. And greetings to your lovely wife.” 

“I’ll tell her.” 

The Russian President leaves and Emmanuel finally finds the officer who got hold of his jacket, and subsequently his phone. 

“Sir ?” asks the man. 

“I need my phone.” says the President “It’s in the inside pocket of my jacket. Please.” 

He is handed is phone, and he starts walking towards the exit of the stadium. His phone is full of messages, emails, tweets, notifications, and missed calls. He tries to prioritize what needs to be sorted out first and when he hops into his car he is calling his wife. 

“Hi honey !” she exclaims as soon as she picks up the call “Feeling better ?”

“I’m over the moon Brigitte ! We won ! We fucking won !” 

“I know, I saw.” she replies “We all watched here at home. We also watched you cry, and scream, and kiss Griezmann…” 

“Are you jealous ?” jokes his husband. 

“Should I be ?”

“Oh, Antoine is very much straight, trust me.” laughs Emmanuel. 

“But you are not. How’s Vladimir ?”

“Same as usual. He says hi.” 

“How nice of him.” she ironically says “Are you on your way back ?” 

“I’m in the car, yes. I can’t wait to be in the plane, I need a shower, and to change clothes. The rain drenched me. Have you seen that ?” 

“We saw that, yes !” exclaims Sebastien behind his mother “We saw everything Emmanuel !” 

Brigitte went to her son’s house, not to be alone on that special day. She could have come to Russia, but she decided to stay in France instead, and let her husband enjoy this special day alone. It was his moment. And he lived the day at its fullest. 

“I’ll meet you back in a couple of days then.” she says. 

“Before the players come back.” he indicates “We host them at the Palace, I already told them we’ll have the biggest party ever.” 

“And you plan on organizing this in just two days ?” she laughs. 

“I am not the one organizing. And it has already been thought about, don’t worry.” 

“Good then. Talk to you when you’re back in France, honey ?”

“Yes. Have a good night. I’ll call you in the morning.” 

“Have a safe trip home. I love you.” 

“Love you too, darling.” 

He hangs up with her and answers a couple of text messages. He received a couple from his boyfriend but purposely kept them for when he gets in the plane. He intends to video call Justin so they can properly talk of the crazy day he just had. His security service follows him as he unboards his car to climb aboard his plane. As usual, they stay on the back, and he enters the front part, reserved just for him. 

“I don’t want to be disturbed.” he says to the man closest to him “Please. And grab some rest, you’ll need plenty in the coming days.” 

They nod and he closes the door. He immediately starts unbuttoning his shirt, sticking to his chest because wet, while he launches a video call with his boyfriend. He is focused on the third button when the call is picked up. 

“Hey Justin !” he says raising his up to the phone in front of him “OH SHIT YOU ARE NOT JUSTIN !” he exclaims loudly, pulling on the collar of his shirt to keep it as closed as possible. 

“Sorry, I am not.” apologizes Ella-Grace “You look funny, Emmanuel.” 

“I am… wet. And tired…” he scratches the back of his neck startled to see the little girl’s face on the screen. 

“I know. I saw you on TV.” she answers “We watched the game with Dad and…”

“ELLA-GRACE ! Oh my god !” 

Justin roared in the background and Emmanuel sees his hand seizing the phone from his daughter’s hands. He hears Justin say to her : 

“Playtime’s over, princess. And I told you countless times to never pick up my phone ! I’m going into my office now.” 

Justin then uncovers the camera and smiles at Emmanuel who is still under shock from what happened. 

“Sorry for that,” he whispers “I’m going into my office. I told her already to not pick up my phone in my absence. But I leave her unattended for five minutes, and she goes nuts ! Five minutes ! I went to the bathroom !” 

He closes the door and adds : 

“Thank god you were clothed.” 

“Barely.” reveals Emmanuel letting go of the grip he has on his shirt, exposing half of his upper-chest “Should she had answered two minutes later, she would have seen me without my shirt…” 

“We have to be more careful.” says Justin laughing and biting his lip at the same time “How are you feeling ?” 

“Over the moon !” says the French president finishing getting rid of his shirt “That was unbelievable ! Have you seen that ? I mean… Twenty years ! We waited twenty years for that to happen again !” 

“I know, I’ve seen that, love. I watched the entire game, despite not really being a soccer guy, you know.” 

“I know. Soccer is a strange concept for you, Americans.” answers Emmanuel “Ella mentioned watching with you…”

“She sat through the game with me, cheering and screaming throughout the whole thing for the French team. And I managed to get Hadrien stay with us for most of the second half. I’m not sure he understood exactly what was happening, but he thought it was fun. No news from Xavier though, soccer is too much to ask from him.” 

Emmanuel stepped into the small bathroom of the plane, taking his phone with him. He locked the door, just in case, even though no one should disturb him there. 

“Are you really going to take a shower ?” asks the Canadian Prime Minister.

“Do you mind ?”

“I don’t.”

“I am soaked, and freezing. I really need a shower before I change my clothes. I kept you to call during this time. And for the record, I am delighted that you choose to watch soccer.” 

“I knew how much that game was important to you Emmanuel. And I wanted to share that with you.” 

Emmanuel finishes to get naked, and gets the water to run as they keep talking. 

“How much does it mean to you ?” questions Justin. 

“It means the world.” responds Emmanuel all to his excitement “I was a young man when we won the first time, in 1998, I remember precisely the outburst of joy, the days of pure bliss for our whole country, it shaped a whole generation… I never thought I’d lived another day like that in my life, especially in such a position.” 

Emmanuel wipes away tears from the corner of his eyes and Justin says, laughing : 

“Are you crying ?” 

“Maybe.” answers the French “I mean… I’m not sure you can really understand how much it means to us.” 

The French passes a hand through his hair, desperately flat on his head, due to the heavy rain he got, and he steps under the shower, the hot water wakes his whole body and he sighs of relief. He was really cold. Justin admires him for a couple of minutes in silence, satisfied to see his lover so happy. It is rare to see Emmanuel in such a state of joy. The President even lets himself go into some humming of the national anthem. It makes them both laugh, and finally Emmanuel focuses back on his partner :

“What did you think of the game ?”

“As I said, I’m no soccer expert, but I thought that this guy… hmm… your national hero… wait…” 

Justin pulls out a folded sheet of paper from his pocket and looks for the name he scribbled down. He knew he had no other choice but to take notes if he wanted to talk about the game with his boyfriend. It makes Emmanuel laughs, but deeps down he finds it adorable. 

“Mbappé !” he exclaims “The young prodigy, the one you hugged so dearly at the end of the game. That one was really good. And he still has many great years in front of him.” 

“And he is a really great guy.” says Emmanuel “Nice, balanced, anchored in reality, not money-driven… I really like him…” 

“Is he your type ?” wonders the Canadian. 

“Come on, not you too ! My wife asked me about Antoine Griezmann… And I mean… How could you and Kilian Mbappé be my type at the same type ?” 

“Okay okay. Kilian is not your type. Who’s the other one ? Oh wait… I wrote that down too. Ooooh… That one is certainly your type. Given the way you held him in your arms at the medal ceremony…” 

“Is there an hint of jealousy in those words Justin ?” 

“Maybe ? Tell me… Is he your type ?”

“Definitely. If I was twenty years younger. And if he was gay. Which I am not, and which he is definitely not.” 

“Too bad for you, you could have celebrated the victory together…” 

“I wouldn’t do that to Brigitte. Or to you.” 

They laugh and keep talking about the game. Thankfully for him, Justin took notes, but he still fails at catching up with Emmanuel’s enthusiasm. The French finishes his shower and dries himself with a clean white towel. He then exits the little bathroom, still on the line with his boyfriend, and looks for the set of clean clothes he knows are somewhere on the plane. He made sure to always have at least two full outfits aboard. He draws the most comfortable one, determined to catch an hour of sleep if possible, and he pulls up clean underwear, a pair of flannel trousers, and a dark t-shirt. He adds a hooded jacket, which he zips halfway-up and he gets into his seat. Justin is still on the line with him, but the Canadian checked his wristwatch twice already, and Emmanuel noticed. 

“I shouldn’t keep you from your family, honey.” he says “I am grateful you took some time to share this day with me. I’ll keep fond memories of everything that happened today. Everything.” 

“I am delighted to have had the chance to share this with you. I know how important this was, and to see you smile, and celebrate like you did, put a true, genuine smile on my face too. You are lucky that Sophie wasn’t home, and that I didn’t had much work to do today. Although I’ll have to catch up now. You should try and get some sleep now.” 

“I’m not sure I can sleep, have you seen how excited I am ?” 

“I know. But you need some rest, the coming days are going to be a lot to take. And yesterday was tiring too.” 

“I know… You’re probably right.” 

“You know I’m right.” 

They are about to say goodbye but Justin decides on adding something else : 

“Manu ?” 

“Hmm ?” 

“Seeing you like that, love : soaked, but tremendously happy, made me realize how much I love you. I saw the little boy in you, and I’d like to see him more often, if possible, because I really like this side of you…” 

“You mean the overexcited me ?” 

“I mean the young, relaxed you.” 

“I see…” 

Emmanuel smiles but he still doesn’t feel like sleeping, or resting for that matters. He looks up at the flight route, on the screen in front of him. 

“Do you mind me taking another forty minutes of your time, honey ?” 

“How could I resist those tempting blue eyes ?” replies the Canadian sighing and sitting further in his seat “Thank God I have someone to take care of the kids. You don’t feel like sleeping at all, don’t you ?”

“Not really.” shrugs Emmanuel Macron “Sorry.” 

“I understand. How’s Vladimir by the way ?” 

“He’s good. I discovered he’s real fond of football, that gives us a common thing to talk about. And he praised our players, and our fair-play, it was a really great pleasure to share this time with him, and the Croatian President.” 

“Oh she’s a nice one.” smiles Justin “I met her last year, and keep a good memory of it.” 

“She is. And despite being on the losing side, she kept smiling, and congratulating everyone.” 

“Why wasn’t your wife with you, by the way ?” 

“She thought I’d feel better on my own to really live the moment. She’s at her son’s place, they watched the game all together, I think most of my step-children and grandchildren were there.” 

“Aren’t you sad she didn’t get to come with you ?” 

Emmanuel doesn’t have to answer this question, because his boyfriend is disturbed by knocks on his door. He apologizes with a quick glance to Emmanuel and answers : 

“COME IN !” 

Hadrien appears next to his father in the coming minute, and Justin grabs him under the armpits to seat him on his knees. 

“Hi Emmanuel.” says the boy noticing the smiling French President on his father’s phone screen. 

“Hello, Hadrien. How are you ?” 

“I’m good. How are you ?” 

“I’m a bit tired. Your father told me you watched a bit of the soccer game with him and your sister, did you enjoy it ?” 

“Yes ! It was really cool !” shouts the little boy with excitement “But I don’t understand soccer ! We don’t play soccer here in Canada…” 

“I know. To be honest, I don’t understand ice-hockey in the slightest, maybe, next time I come, you could explain me hockey, and I’ll explain you soccer ?” 

“Yes !” 

Justin is grinning at how good Emmanuel is getting along with his kids. He kisses Hadrien on the top of the head and asks : 

“What did you want, my little monkey ?” 

“I’m bored, Dad ! Xav’ wanted to know if you’d come play with us outside…” 

“Hmm…” hesitates Justin torn between his children and his boyfriend. 

“Go.” says Emmanuel “Don’t stay for me. I’m good, Justin.” 

“Thank you.” mutters the PM to his partner. “I’m coming” he adds to Hadrien “But not for too long, alright ? I’ll have to work for a bit…” 

“Cool ! Bye Emmanuel !” 

“Talk to you later, Manu’...” says Justin whose son is already dragging by the arm to go play “Sorry” 

“Don’t worry ! Enjoy !” 

Justin pockets his phone nonetheless and Emmanuel ends the call. He sends a quick text to his boyfriend before settling to doze off to sleep. 

**_Your son is adorable. Thanks for allowing me to share my excitement with you. Take care of your children, I can survive a few hours without you, I guess._ **

**_I love you._ **

He receives an answer a second later, two emojis : a soccer ball and a red heart. It makes him smile and he turns off his phone. He closes his eyes and falls asleep almost instantly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think of this chapter ? Cute ? Justin taking notes so he can catch up with Emmanuel ? His mild-jealousy towards Griezmann ? Emmanuel being overexcited and unable to sleep ? Them sharing this despite being on different continents ? The kids joining in on watching the game ?


	14. August 11th 2018 - Paris, France / Ottawa, Canada - Too close, too much...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.  
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 14 : Turn me on (Norah Jones)

Emmanuel shakes hands with his Ministers as they all go out, one by one of the room they had been meeting in. We are Wednesday, and it is their last mandatory reunion before two weeks of well-earned holidays. As usual, Edouard Philippe, his Prime Minister is the last one to gather his files, glasses, phone and jacket to leave. 

“What are your plans ?” asks the President to his friend. 

“I’m meeting with my wife for dinner, and then we head home. I keep my phone open, but unless it’s an emergency, I won’t answer. Even to you…” 

“I know. You deserve a break. We all do.” 

“And you ?” 

“Bregançon, as usual. We’re leaving in a couple of days.” 

Emmanuel pauses to look down at his phone, Twitter just notified him that the keywords he demanded alerts for have been triggered. He opens the app, and while it loads, he looks up at his friend : 

“Enjoy your holidays, Edouard. You earned them. And come back with a little tan, you’re awfully pale.” 

They laugh, knowing that where the Prime Minister will spend his holidays it is most unlikely he will sunbathe, and they shake hands. Edouard can’t help but give a quick glance above Emmanuel’s shoulder at what the President is so busy looking at. He chuckles when he sees the full screen pictures of the Canadian Prime Minister doing his morning run. 

“Careful with that, Emmanuel !” warns Edouard going away “Icarus burned his wings from flying too close to the Sun !” 

The ominous warning unfortunately comes too late. Emmanuel is already involved with Justin. Much more than his Minister and friend can imagine. The pictures, taken only a couple of minutes ago by passersby and paparazzis are awakening something wild in Emmanuel. Justin his wearing a pair of shorts, revealing the most of his muscled legs, and a tank top, exposing the tattoo, and the finely chiseled arms he has. He has a cap on his head, to keep his hair from his face, a pair of sunglasses, and three security officers running behind him. He looks extremely sexy and desirable, and Emmanuel lets himself down in his office chair, still browsing through the pictures, a horny smirk on the lips. He checks his wristwatch and nods. Brigitte won’t be home for at least another hour or two, and he can probably take advantage of that time to get a little dirty with his boyfriend. They have both been very serious lately, having tremendous amounts of work to deal with before the holidays. Emmanuel informs his secretary that he will be out of office, and unavailable for two hours, and he heads for his private apartments. On the way, he texts his boyfriend. 

**_Sexy sexy sexy ! You got me all horny Mister Prime Minister ! Up for some fun when you’re back home ?_ **

Justin gets back to his house after a run of nearly an hour. It had been quite a long time he had not run for that long and he feels extremely good. He takes a couple of minutes to stretch on the steps in front of the house, and one of his security guards gives him his cellphone back before he gets in. He received a message from Emmanuel, he should have predicted that. Justin saw the paparazzis and passersby during his jog, and he even waved at them, of course the pictures were headed straight to the internet. Emmanuel’s text makes him laugh and he calls his boyfriend, not on video for the moment. 

“You have to stop teasing me like that you know.” immediately says the French President. “This is not fair, you looked like a Greek god…” 

“You know this isn’t true.” laughs Justin “But I admit I missed running. I should do that more often.” 

“You were up early this morning.” 

“I wanted to clear my thoughts. Sophie was still asleep, the kids aren’t home, I thought a good run would do me good. I had no idea you got surveillance on me.” says Justin opening the door of the house. 

He tries to stay silent, because Sophie was still in bed when he left an hour earlier. With a little luck, she still is. He grabs the clean towel he dropped on the kitchen table before leaving and wipes his sweaty face and neck. He hangs his cap, and removes his sneakers, still chatting with Emmanuel. 

“Do you always have your bodyguards run with you ?” questions the French. 

“Depends on their mood.” answers Justin “Sometimes they follow on a bicycle, but most of the time, it’s their daily jog as well…” 

Justin only notices then that is wife is standing in the kitchen, drinking her coffee. He completely failed at seeing her the first time he stepped into the room, too busy talking on the phone. He smiles at her and points at the upper floor, indicating he is going to shower. 

“I’m heading to shower now and..” he tells Emmanuel.

“Wait ! Justin !” calls Sophie as he’s already halfway up the stairs “Why are you taking your phone to the bathroom ?” she laughs.

“Wait a second.” says Justin into his phone. 

He covers the microphone with his hand and tells his wife. 

“Nothing to worry about, Sophie.” 

He locks himself into the bathroom, which he never does when there are only Sophie and him in the house. Their kids are at their grandparents for the holidays, and they have the whole place to themselves for the week. Unbeknownst to him, his wife had planned to meet him under the shower, to enjoy a sweet moment with him. She followed him upstairs in order to do so. 

“Sorry.” whispers Justin to his lover “Let me call you back via video.” 

He places the phone on the edge of the sink and launches a video call with his boyfriend. In the meanwhile, Sophie knocks on the door. She tries to open the door, but notices her husband locked it. It’s odd. He never does so. 

“Justin ? Who are you talking to ? And why did you lock the door ?” 

Boldly, but mostly because he doesn’t know what to answer, Justin chooses to remain silent. He turns the tap on, so the water starts running and he smiles at Emmanuel who popped up on his screen. He places a finger on his mouth, indicating they have to keep quiet, and he lifts his top above his arms, removing it and letting it fall at his feet. 

In France, Emmanuel is lying on his bed, his shirt wide open, a hand down his pants, although Justin can’t really see what he is doing down there. Even if it seems pretty obvious. Justin removes his shorts, and gets rid of his underwear, exposing his intimacy for his very horny lover to see. 

“Oh God !” murmurs Emmanuel.

Justin steps under the shower, tilting his head backwards, allowing the water to flow down his body, relaxing his worn out muscles. He passes both his hands in his hair, and Emmanuel keeps observing him. When Justin reopens his eyes, he feels hornier than before, and ready to indulge into some quick fun with his boyfriend. He pours some body wash on his chest and lets his hands slide on his body, teasing the eager French. He keeps above the waist for now, but his cock is too responsive to this slow teasing, and the blood is pumping, hardening his rod faster than he would have thought. 

“Naughty boy.” he hears Emmanuel whispers. 

The French still has a hand down his pants, and seems to be enjoying the show just as much as his partner. Justin finally surrenders and his fingers go down to the messy patch of hair he has just above his penis. He bites his lower lip and looks straight at Emmanuel. He’d pay a lot of money to be with him just now, and share this sexy morning time with him. But they’ll have to do via video for today. He lowers his hand again and seizes his hard stiff penis. 

“OH FUCK !” he groans 

Emmanuel really has a great power over him. He got him hard in no time, and without words. He is masturbating now, his fingers going up and down his cock, fast and steady. He does not look down at what he is doing, pleasure travelling straight to his brain and sending him into a completely different dimension. Throughout this silent masturbation, neither Emmanuel nor Justin dares to break their visual connection. They keep pleasuring themselves, looking straight into each other’s eyes, communicating the words they can’t express out loud. All of their love is contained in their gaze. 

“Hmm…” moans Emmanuel slightly. 

Justin realizes his shower is taking him longer than it should, and that Sophie will ask questions, on top on the one she already has if he doesn’t hurry up. He uses his fingers to circle around his glans, bringing himself on the edge of orgasm, having to close his eyes for a second to not scream his pleasure. He brings his free hand to his mouth, and bites on his fist to refrain from moaning, or making any noise, and he goes faster. Emmanuel lowered the camera, to show his boyfriend what he is doing and powered up by the view of his boyfriend’s hard cock, Justin orgasms and cums under the shower, his semen splashing at his feet. His legs are shaking and he needs to put his hands on the wall not to fall down. Emmanuel also orgasms seconds later, a little bit louder than him, spreading sperm all over his fingers. The French is panting and Justin finishes washing up. He steps out of the shower and grabs a towel. His erection is fading off, and he dries himself, still over the moon by the intense pleasure he just felt. Justin finishes drying his hair, and he ruffles through them with both hands, trying to arrange them in a respectable enough style. He then leans forward and tells his boyfriend with a low voice : 

“I might be in trouble for what we just did.”

“You know it was not my intention…” answers the French closing the fly of his trousers and getting up to go wash his hands “Do you think she suspects anything ?”

“I don’t know. She seemed interrogative, but I doubt she has any idea...” 

“I’m sorry, honey.”

“Don’t be. It was perfect. And Sophie’s my problem, I told you already. I have to go now.” 

“Bye. And good luck.” 

“Thanks.” 

They end up their call, and Justin goes back to his bedroom, to get dressed. He drops his phone on his nightstand and looks for clean underwear in his drawer. He pulls on a pair of grey boxers, old jeans, a leather belt, and a faded t-shirt. He doesn’t have to get out of the house today, so he can dress more casually than usual. In his wardrobe, looking for socks, he frowns when he notices the zipper of his suitcase open. He always closes it before putting it away, and it’s odd to find it open. He zips it close and grabs a pair of socks. He puts them on and goes downstairs trying to forget about this. He pocketed his phone on the way down. Sophie is in the kitchen, reading something on her laptop. 

“Sorry.” he says to her, kissing her on the forehead “I really needed that shower. You know where to find me…” 

He turns around to go away but she makes him stop by saying : 

“Who were you chatting with ? On your way to the bathroom ?”

“A friend. Not that it is any of your business.” 

He chuckles nervously. She seems suspicious and he turns to look at her. Is she really doubting him ? She finally lower her eyes to her computer. End of discussion for now. He goes into his office and sits down at his desk, he turns his computer on and looks for his glasses in the drawer next to him. 

“What the… !” he exclaims. 

He seizes the unopened pack of condoms he found in the drawer of his desk, next to his glasses. He recognizes it of course. It’s the one he bought before his first time with Emmanuel, just in case they would need to use one. But they never did, and ever since it had been sitting in his suitcase. How did them end up in here ? He drops the pack back in the drawer, and puts his glasses on his nose. It only registers into his brain when he slams the said drawer shut. His suitcase ! FUCK ! Sophie probably went snooping behind his back. Which is seriously concerning, considering their whole relationship is, and has always been based on trust. And respect. They promised to each other never to look through each other belongings without permission, and that includes luggages, and phones, amongst other things. This unsettles him a lot, and he struggles to focus on the work he has to do for the next hour. Why ? Why did Sophie do this ? And why plant this in his desk for him to find by accident ? Why not confront him directly ? Is she trying to send him a message ? Of what sort ? He barely accomplished anything when he joins her for lunch in their kitchen. She prepared a light salad, and settled the table for two. 

“I was wondering…” she starts “It’s been a long time I haven’t seen your female bodyguard around… What’s her name again ? Leslie ? Is she alright ?” 

Justin blinks several time, seriously puzzled by that question. 

“She’s fine, I guess.” he shrugs “She has asked to change shifts, so she can be with her girlfriend during the day, and work at nights…” 

“Oh. She’s gay ?”

“Yes. Why ? Are you interested ?” he jokes. 

She blushes slightly but does not answer. She thought her husband might have been interested in her. And seeing the woman behind closed doors. She is convinced Justin is having an affair of some sort, but she has no proof of it. And even though she went through his luggage and found condoms, this doesn’t prove anything. Has he found them in his desk ? She can’t say. If he has, he is a master at hiding his trouble, if he hasn’t, he’s in for a deep surprise. 

“I will be doing some yoga this afternoon, do you think you could join me ?” asks Sophie. 

“Mmmh. That could be interesting.” nods Justin “But I have work to do. Sorry.” 

“I thought we could enjoy some time together… You know… You and I… Just the two of us…” 

She smirks and he smiles at her. This is a naughty proposition. He would gladly have said yes if he hadn’t discovered that she had been going through his stuff in his back. He feels betrayed, and he doesn’t know how to bring up the topic yet. 

“I really am busy. But I’ll make it up to you tonight, I swear.” 

“Fine.” she shrugs. “What have you been working on lately ?” 

“I am working on the future trade agreements that I plan on presenting to the Parliament once we resume in September. It’s boring, but essential.” 

“Oh. Are you working on that on your own ?”

“For now, yes. But then it’ll run back and forth between the members of my team.” 

“You really like them, don’t you ?” 

“Who ? The members of my team ?”

“Mmh” she nods.

“Of course. I have a deep trust in them.” 

He emphasized the word trust, to let her know that she can’t fool him. She broke his trust, and he will ask for explanations later, maybe. 

“I know I can count on them, and we have accomplished a lot so far.” continues Justin “And I hope we can continue on the same path. For the sake of the country.” 

“Do you count them as friends ?” 

“Some of them are friends, but most of them aren’t. Why all those questions, Soph’ ?” 

“I’m just curious…” 

Silence falls upon them both and they stare at each other for a minute. Both of them are acting weird and carefully avoiding the elephant in the room. 

“You know,” says Justin desperately looking for a topic of discussion “I have been thinking about the idea of buying a cellphone for Xavier and…”

“You changed your mind ?” she frowns. 

“I don’t know yet. But maybe this would be a good idea. I mean. He is growing up really fast, and I’d like to be able to know where he is and what he is doing…”

“But eleven is still very young. Twelve or thirteen seems more appropriate.” she argues “He’s still a little boy.” 

“Nearly a teen.” corrects Justin “And they now make those kind of easy phones especially designed for young people. With restricted access to internet…” 

“We can look it up if you think it’s worth dwelling on it.” she agrees “But I feel it is a terrible idea.” 

He shrugs. It is probably a terrible idea. But it’s worth giving it a thought. And it filled the silence between them. Justin finished eating and he gets up to put his plate and glass into the dishwasher. 

“I am going back to my office. But… My door stays open should you need to talk.” 

This is to give her the opportunity to come forward, and say what she has to say to him, if she really wants to say something. The condoms did not end up in his drawer by accident. 

She drops by an hour and a half later, in her yoga clothes, slightly sweaty, but smiling. She leans against the door frame of his office, and knocks on the door. 

“Am I disturbing ?”

“Slightly.” he says “But come in. I can take a break.” 

He drops his glasses and smiles at her. She steps inside his office and stays standing, in front of him. He waits and she finally asks : 

“About our trip to the United Nations next month, do you believe it’s wise to bring the kids with us to New-York ?” 

“They have been begging us to see the Big Apple, Sophie.” answers Justin “I thought this had been sorted out already. Are you reconsidering ?” 

“I was thinking that maybe you had better things to do… I mean… People to see… Instead of taking your kids sightseeing around town.” 

“Sure I will have meetings, and we have the dinner, you and I. But I think we can still manage to arrange for a visit or two as a family.” 

“Is your calendar set already ?” 

“More or less.”

“Can I see ?” 

They suspiciously look at each other and Justin pulls his notepad from under a pile of files. He scribbled his schedule for the trip at the United Nations down a couple of days ago, and he checks it quickly, before handing it to Sophie. He has no idea if she really hopes to find something incriminating on it, but if she does, this isn’t really a smart move. Of course he planned a “working session” with his best friend. But that will not at all alert his wife. Or at least he hopes. 

“We could go to the Liberty Statue, here.” she says pointing at a free afternoon on his schedule “If your security service believe it is safe enough of course.” 

“I’ll arrange something. The kids will be over the moon. Anything else you’d like to see while we’re there ?” 

“Do we have time for a Broadway show ?” she inquires “Lion King maybe ? I think Didi could enjoy that.” 

“Brilliant idea indeed.” smiles Justin “I’ll write that down and get us some tickets. Do you already know what you’ll be wearing for the reception ?”

“Something outrageously indecent.” she jokes “To make sure all eyes are on me, for once. Especially yours.” 

“What do you mean ?”

“That maybe you are more interested in other people in such international parties…” 

He doesn’t answer, waiting for more explanations. 

“I have seen how you are using your… charms, Justin. And the women like you.” 

“I’ve always been good at public relationships.” he chuckles “But you know you are the only one in my heart.” 

“You are sweet to say so.” 

“Are you doubting it ?” asks Justin.

He is walking on eggshells here, trying to push the boundaries and see how much she suspects, and how far she is ready to go. 

“Let’s say we haven’t been really intimate this week. Despite being alone in the house…” she answers .

She then goes away and runs upstairs to take her shower. Justin sighs and buries his face into his hands. It’s true, he has not been very physical with Sophie this week, because Emmanuel exhausted him over the phone or via video before. And he got enough satisfaction from this intense but remote intercourse. This is something he should have been more paying attention to. He resumes working and goes back to the living-room a couple hours later. Sophie is nowhere to be seen, but the photo album of their wedding has been pulled out of the shelf and left on the couch. This is a message. Justin seizes it and turn the pages, looking for the picture he prefers in it : the one where he kisses Sophie at their wedding reception, each of them holding a glass of champagne in hand. Both of them were happy and relieved that the ceremony went well, and the pure bliss of being newlyweds colored their cheeks in bright pink. Or maybe it was the champagne. His fingers stop on Sophie’s face on that picture and he smiles. He loves her so much. And surely he isn’t in an ideal situation right now, but he’ll manage. He has not stopped loving his wife. Not for one split second. And what he lives with Emmanuel is amazing, and different. He puts the album back into their bookcase, where it belongs, and he looks for his wife. Maybe they need to have that talk after all. He finds her lounging in their garden, with a book, a hat, and her sunglasses. 

“Do you think Melania will be there at the United Nations dinner ?” she asks. 

“Of course she will, Donald wouldn’t miss a chance to brag with her at his arm.” replies his husband immediately, sitting on the floor next to her “Why the question ?” 

“And Jacinda ?”

“Jacinda Ardern ? Of course. She’s the Prime Minister of New-Zealand…”

“And Brigitte is going to be there as well ?”

“Aren’t you done with your questions ?” he sighs “Do you seriously believe I have any interest in those women ? I picked up the clues, Sophie… I know you have suspicions, which is silly.” 

“Is it really ?” she says setting her book away and turning to him. 

“Absolutely.” he nods “I have never demonstrated any interest for any other woman but you. And you know it…” 

He pauses, looks at her and adds : 

“I know you went snooping behind my back in my suitcase. And I am undecided yet about how I feel about it, but the point is : I know you found the condoms, I got my hand on them this morning in my desk.” 

Sophie is about to react, but Justin lifts a finger to ask her to keep silent. He needs to say what he has to say first. 

“I am not seeing any other woman.” 

He is only half-lying. But he saw the loophole and decided to jump into it. There is no other woman in is life, and there has never been. Emmanuel is a whole different story. 

“I picked the condoms as part of the toiletries that were offered in some hotel I stayed in. I did it mindlessly, I don’t know why I did it, and I never thought it would put me into trouble. I am sorry you found them, and it led you to ask yourself questions…”

“So you are not attracted to any other woman ?” she says. 

“No, of course not. I know I haven’t been the perfect husband lately, but I’ll try to do better. If I can outpass the fact that you broke my trust.” 

She stays silent for a while and takes his hand. 

“I feel like you’ve been hiding something for a few months now,” she explains “I needed to figure out what.” 

“And so you assumed immediately that I was cheating on you ?”

“What else ? You barely touch me anymore, you hide in your office for hours on the phone, you keep very silent on what you are doing in your free time when you are abroad, you are cheekier than ever with everybody…” 

She avoids his gaze and they stay silent for a while. It is more bearable than previously in the day. This time they explained to each other what they had in their mind. What they truly had in their mind. Justin tousles his hair with his free hand and declares : 

“I am really uncomfortable with the idea of you not talking to me. And looking behind my back in my part of the wardrobe. It’s a violation of trust. A violation of what is the basic foundation of our relationship, Sophie. Our marriage holds because we can trust each other… But I understand you can feel insecure sometimes, and I should have noticed.” 

“I am sorry. It was a bad thing to do.” she apologizes. 

“For the record… Usually, when I’m on the phone in my office late at night, it’s with Emmanuel. Because of the time difference.” 

“You spend a lot of time with him.” 

“I really like him. And we work together. A lot. It helps to sometime bounce ideas back and forth and just see how it sounds.” 

“I know…” 

She sighs. She feels really stupid. Justin must think she was hysterical. All those suspicions, all those trying to trick him, to make him admit he was cheating. This was ridiculous. How could she believe Justin is a cheater ? 

“You do know that cheating would break our marriage ?” she says “That is something I could not forgive.” 

“I know.” he sighs “But I don’t know why you immediately jumped to that conclusion. You have to admit this is a bit far-fetched. Even for you…” 

“I know.” she chuckles “But you also know that I am jealous by nature, and even though I trust you, and I love you, there are a lot of women gravitating around you.” 

“But my heart belongs to you.” 

“You would tell me if that ever changed ? You would talk to me if we were on unstable grounds ?” 

“Yes, of course Sophie. But my love for you is as strong as it has ever been. You have no reason to worry.” 

My heart has just doubled its capacity to love, he adds in his head. Which is both really weird and oddly satisfying at the same time. He has love to give, a lot of love in fact. For his wife, for his kids, for Emmanuel, and for the rest of his family. And he still believes he can balance all of this without being caught. Surely it requires a lot of self-control, and a few adjustments in his daily-life, but it should be possible. And he never, not for one second, stopped loving Sophie. Which he expresses by kissing her lips tenderly. 

“Are you mad at me for going behind your back ?” 

“Did you do that this morning, while I was under the shower ?” replies Justin. 

“Not really.” she says “I had been looking a few weeks ago, I found the condoms, and put them back where I found them. But given your… attitude this morning, I figured I might use a bit of provocation and went back for them.” 

“You mis-closed the zipper on your way out.” he laughs “So I knew something was off. And to answer your initial question, I’m not mad. But slightly disappointed. Especially if it’s been weeks.” 

“Was I supposed to bring that down, in front of the kids ? Are you ready to have that safe sex conversation with our little monsters ? Because I am really not.” 

They look at each other and laugh. Thankfully their kids are still a bit young for that talk, even though it’s going to be coming faster than they would. They already had a sat down with their eldests, answering their questions about how babies arrive in this world, why boys and girls are different, and what it means in terms of growing up… And Justin didn’t particularly enjoy that talk. 

“What can I do to make amends ?” questions Sophie. 

“Let’s start by being honest with each other when we have issues. And you owe me nothing, love. I’ll forgive you, I just need a few hours, maybe a couple of days. Do you mind if I go boxing ? I need to clear my head. Then we should have dinner together.”

“Out, maybe ? I’m inviting.”

Justin is startled but impressed. Sophie really wants to make things right between them. A nice evening out could be a good idea indeed. It’s been ages they haven’t been to the restaurant, or the movies, and he is dying to do this kind of things. 

“I’ll let security know, then.” he smiles “I am looking forward to it.” 

“Me as well.” 

They exchange a sweet kiss and he goes back inside the house to look for his gym bag. he texts the boxing facility to let them know he is on his way, and he joins his security guards in the booth they have next to his house. 

“I’m going boxing” he announces “Who’s in ?” 

Two men are already jumping on their feet to follow him. 

“Oh.” he adds “Sophie and I are going out tonight. I don’t know where exactly, but probably restaurant, maybe seeing a movie after that, or a stroll through the city, we’ll need discreet but efficient protection for that.” 

“We’ll gather a team for that, Sir.” answers the senior officer in charge of coordinating his protection services “Do you need anything else ?” 

“That’ll be all. Thank you.” 

In the car, on his way to the boxing practice, he texts Emmanuel, to let him know how is day went. 

**_Hey love,_ **

**_You and I are safe for now, Sophie has still no idea that I can be attracted to men. However, she thought I might have been cheating on her with a woman, I of course dismissed those silly ideas._ ** **_  
_ ** **_I miss you a lot, but I won’t be available tonight. I’ll try to catch up for some missed time with my wife. I’ll call you when I can. Love you._ **

He adds a couple of hearts and sends it to his boyfriend. Knowing that he can preserve his relationship with Emmanuel and still go out with his wife at night makes him extremely happy and he hopes this arrangement will hold for the months to come. 

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think of this chapter ? 
> 
> Horny Emmanuel ? Justin indulging on a "hot" shower ? Sophie's jealousy ? The condoms revelation ? The clues dropped all day long ? How Justin managed to avoid betraying himself ? Sophie's insecurities ? 
> 
> Next chapter will take place at the UN dinner Justin and Sophie are talking about in this chapter. What do you think might happen there ?


	15. September 23rd 2018 - New York, USA - Friends, foes & international negotiations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.
> 
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 15 : Him (Sam Smith)
> 
> \----
> 
> Fun fact : this chapter marks almost one year day for day that they kissed for the first time. Same place........ 
> 
> Also, I know that some things might seem a little bit "rushed" in this chapter (negotiations especially) but for the sake of the fic, it has to be this way, you'll forgive me for sure for that.

“Cheers !” 

Emmanuel sees a glass appear in front of his eyes and he turns around seizing it. 

“Cheers to you, Justin. And thanks for the drink.” 

“I was looking for you.” answers the Canadian taking a sip of water “You vanished after your discussion with Theresa and Angela, I thought they had eaten you.” 

“I needed to cool down,” explains the French with a grin “that was… unproductive.” 

“That much ?” 

Emmanuel sighs and drinks half of the apple juice Justin brought him. His boyfriend noticed that the French was craving for sweet beverages ever since the morning, and he grabbed the first one he found on the buffet. Both of them are in the corridor of the first floor, quite far from the reception room, but they can still overhear the many head of states chatting loudly. Most of the respective spouses have already arrived, but both Justin and Emmanuel are still lacking theirs. Emmanuel leans against the handrail above the flight of stairs by which his wife is due to arrive, and Justin rests his back against it, still chatting with his partner. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t free my lunch time today.” he apologizes “I got held by…” 

“The President of Venezuela, I know.” cuts Emmanuel who heard that apology at least ten times already “It’s alright. We’ll find another time.” 

It’s a lie. They had both arranged their scheduled to have free time in common, so they could share a lunch break, and meet each other to kiss and cuddle behind closed door. But they missed that opportunity, and haven’t been able to exchange more than a handshake since the morning. Which mean they are both really frustrated. 

“Oh. Wow.” mutters Emmanuel who saw his wife appear at the bottom of the stairs. 

Brigitte is wearing a black dress, accentuating every single curve of her body, and her husband can’t help but give an appreciative glance at her bum. She looks incredible. She is perched on high heels. He notices that she is waiting for someone, and another woman appears below him. He’d recognize the hairstyle anywhere : it’s Justin’s wife, Sophie. The woman is wearing a sleeveless pastel green cocktail dress and matching stilettos. She looks stunning as always. Justin frowned at his counterpart’s silence and he also watches their wives walking up the stairs, chatting as the friends they are. They look up and wave at them with a smile and keep going. 

“Look at you two !” exclaims Sophie two steps from the the top “You look like naughty college boys waiting to do mischief !” 

She laugh and finishes going up to join them. Brigitte is only a few steps behind her. 

“Good evening Emmanuel.” she says kissing him on the cheek “A pleasure to see you.” 

“Likewise.” he answers politely. 

As Brigitte walks forward, Emmanuel passes an arm around her waist and he chastly plants a kiss on her lips. They are not much into big public displays of affection, contrary to Justin and Sophie who are kissing more languorously. 

“You look dazzling, honey.” whispers Emmanuel to his wife “How was your day ?” 

“Certainly more interesting than yours.” she answers “You look exhausted.” 

Angry would be more correct, but he keeps that information to him. Especially since Justin is still kissing his wife, not in the slightest ashamed by the presence of his friends, or the dozen of security officers in the corridor alongside them. Emmanuel prompts his wife to walk in front of him to the reception room, keeping a hand in her back, and he ignores completely his boyfriend, who is reluctantly pulling away from his wife’s lips. The Canadian tries to glance at his lover, but the icy blue eyes of Emmanuel freeze him on the spot. He let the French couple walk ahead, and Emmanuel’s bodyguards step in between the two couples to the reception room. 

“Did you two fight ?” frowns Sophie sensing the chill in the air.

“Not really.” brushes off her husband “But I got held for the lunch we were supposed to have together. And he had a pretty rough day.” 

“That seemed far more personal than a rough day at work.” states Sophie.

“He’s mad about the lunch, that’s all. Don’t worry.” 

And they won’t be seated together for dinner, which means Justin will not get any chance to explain himself. This whole evening will be a nightmare, he can feel it already. Emmanuel intertwines fingers with his wife, and introduces her to various head of states, many of them she had met before, but countless she has never seen in her life. She is a bit surprised to not be hanging around Justin and Sophie, but she learned to not question her husband choices. Especially since she can feel his sweaty palm, and that he has already drank two glasses of juice since they set foot into the room. 

“What’s going on with you ?” she whispers to him once they are alone in a quiet corner of the room.

“Sorry, I had a really bad day.” he answers kissing her on the cheek “And our dinner environnement won’t arrange things, I’m afraid.” 

“Who are the lucky winners ?” she chuckles.

“The Presidents of Colombia and Guinea-Bissau and their wives, Jacinda, the Prime Minister of New-Zealand with her husband, and Donald and Melania.” recites Emmanuel remembering the name cards he checked on their table. 

“You must be delighted.” she jokes in response. 

“I’m extremely glad you are here.” he says “You know I can’t do that without you.” 

“Did you argue with any of them today ?”

“No.”

“Did you argue with Justin, today ?” 

The question took Emmanuel by surprise, and he lowers his eyes to his wife. As usual, she understood him perfectly. 

“We were supposed to have lunch together,” explains the French President to his wife “he stood me up.” 

“Oh come on. Those kind of things happen. Especially here. And I’m sure he apologized.” 

“Profusely.” softly says Justin who approached them from behind in silence “But you know your husband’s stubbornness. Emmanuel, can I have a word with you, please ?” 

Brigitte nods and walks away, to go and have a chat with people she knows. Justin stands next to his boyfriend, resisting all the urges of his body that dictate him to touch Emmanuel, whether only the arm or the shoulder. 

“I know you are still mad at me. But I am afraid there’s more than the missed lunch going on.” 

“We can not discuss this here.” 

“I have my phone in my jacket pocket,” indicates Justin “please let’s try to solve this out.” 

“I have Trump at my table,” jokes Emmanuel “it’s not like we’re going to have much conversation anyway.” 

“I have Vladimir, do you want to trade ?”

They smile at each other and part ways. Justin gives a look at his partner, discreetly tapping on his jacket pocket to indicate that he is waiting for a message. Emmanuel gets his phone out of his own pocket and types a quick text on his way to the table he was assigned to for dinner. As if fate really wanted their evening to be even more of a nightmare, the Canadian and the French are seated on the two furthest table in the room. 

**_First of all : if you apologize once more for that stupid lunch, I swear I’ll make you eat your damn phone._ **

**_Second : you don’t want to know what put me on edge tonight, maybe we should let it slide, and try to talk tomorrow, when we’re both in a better mood._ **

Justin chuckles at the first part of the text, but the second part makes him frown. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have time to dwell on that. He shakes hand with Vladimir Putin that just arrived at the table, and greets the president of Bangladesh and his wife that will be seated with them. Prince Albert of Monaco, and his wife Charlene, and Theresa May, the Prime Minister of United Kingdom, with her husband will complete their table. Sophie is seated between her husband and Vladimir who makes the effort of chatting with her which gives Justin a chance to text his lover back. He types the message under the table, and checks it before pressing the send button. 

**_I don’t like seeing you all grumpy and angry like that. Please tell me, you know we can tell each other everything._ **

Emmanuel feels the phone buzzing against his chest, indicating an incoming text, but he is in a deep conversation with his counterparts and can’t check it immediately. Anyway, he’s not sure that to keep talking with his lover his the wisest thing to do. 

“... suggesting that maybe we could discuss that agreement over a golf practise.” concludes Trump. 

“Interesting.” politely nods Jacinda Ardern.

Emmanuel hasn’t been listening for the last couple of minutes and he blinks several times to reconnect with the usual gibberish nonsense of his American colleague. 

“Soft negotiations, as usual, Donald.” he smiles “Very clever.” 

“You see,” says the US President to the people around the table “this guy here, my friend, Emmanuel, I like him, I really like him. He and I we get along, because he understands what I mean !”

Donald added a strong pat on Emmanuel’s shoulder, nearly dislocating Emmanuel’s joint in the process. The French smiles back at him, and exchange a quick glance with his wife. As usual he saved the day with his quick thinking. He discreetly gets his phone out and checks it under the table, while Donald entertains them with another joke of his choice. Fuck. Justin really is one of a kind. 

**_I am jealous of your wife, you idiot. Have you seen how she shamelessly kissed you when she arrived ? She ate your mouth, this was highly indecent, and very disturbing, and I wish I had not seen that. Especially how happy you were to see her, and to kiss her, and to stick your tongue into her mouth like a greedy teenager._ **

Emmanuel regrets his harsh tone as soon as he hits send, but it’s too late already. He types another texts under the table. 

**_Excuse me, I have no right to say those things to you. Enjoy your meal, we should really talk tomorrow._ **

He press sends and Brigitte snatches the phone from his fingers underneath the table. 

“Do you really have to text, now ?” she asks. 

“It’s important.” he says “Besides, most of us are doing so.” 

She takes a look around and realizes that indeed, a lot of head of states are texting, or chatting on the phone, when they are not discussing with their neighbours. Some of them are already eating, and they are being served at this exact moment. At the other end of the room, Justin is discussing with Theresa May and Prince Albert about New York : 

“... saw you brought your kids with you ?” asks the PM of the United Kingdom. 

“They were begging us to come to New York.” laughs Justin “And Hadrien, our youngest one, is now old enough to really enjoy that kind of travel.” 

“He has been over-excited all day.” adds Sophie “We had a walk through Central park, he couldn’t stop running all over the place.” 

“Our twins did that too.” says Charlene, the discreet princess of Monaco “They are about the same age as your son, I think, and it’s their first official trip outside of Europe. But we couldn’t resist bringing them along !” 

“I have to admit that it is a delight to come back to the hotel in the evenings and have them jumping into my arms.” laughs her husband. 

“Same here.” indicates Justin “And it’s one more occasion to spend some family time, all together.” 

And this trip would be even better if his boyfriend would stop sulking for no reason. Justin checks his phone and nearly chokes on his drink reading the first text he received. Really ? Emmanuel is that jealous of his wife ? Of course, Justin realized how insensitive he had been when he caught the cold stare of his boyfriend, but he didn’t think Emmanuel would be that mad at him. The second text makes his heart ache a bit. Emmanuel is in a really bad place, and they are going to have an horrendous evening, both of them, if they don’t find a way to defuse the tension. 

“Everything alright ?” questions Vladimir seeing the pale face of the Canadian. 

“Hmm ?” reacts Justin who has not heard the question. 

“He is asking if you are alright, honey.” whispers Sophie to her husband. 

“Yes, I’m good. Sorry.” 

Justin puts his phone back into his pocket, thinking about what he can answer. In the meantime, he tries to act as normal. 

**_Are you really that jealous of Sophie ? Or is it because you and I haven’t been able to properly see each other today ? I was happy to see her, and I feel miserable that I didn’t get to kiss you as I got to kiss her. But she is my wife. And you better get used to see me kiss her. A lot._ **

He presses send and adds after a few seconds : 

**_Sorry. I am insensitive as always. I don’t know what to say to you…_ **

Emmanuel doesn’t likes those messages. At all. And it worsens his mood even more. Of course he is jealous of Sophie, it’s something he explored countless times with Justin, and they argued about it a few times as well. He is trying his best to give the change at table, but between the starter and the main course, he excuses himself, and goes outside the room for a minute. He needs fresh air. It’s less crowded, les noisy and much more breathable in the corridor. He draws his phone and sends a text to his boyfriend : 

**_I really think that this conversation is leading us nowhere, Justin. Let’s stop here, and maybe, we’ll talk tomorrow._ **

Emmanuel then takes his face into his hands and sighs. His whole day was exhausting, and he really hopes the dinner won’t last for long, because he only wants a hot shower, and to crawl in his bed. His phone buzzes in his hand and he looks down at the screen to the message he receives. 

**_If you think I am going to drop this conversation, you really don’t know me, love. I am not leaving you with your insecurities. We need to talk this through. Meet me in the bathroom, in thirty-five minutes, and we’ll have a real talk, just you and me._ **

A faint smile enlightens Emmanuel’s face and he comes back to his seat, a little bit brighter. He checked his watch, and makes sure to keep an eye on the time, so he can be at the meeting point with Justin. His boyfriend is right : they have to talk things through. The main course is a steak with french fries, with a vegetarian option for those who don’t eat meat, and they resume their conversations over it. Justin is keeping an eye on his wristwatch, he is incidentally wearing the one Emmanuel offered him for his birthday last year, but he keeps an ear open for the conversations at his table, adding a nice comment, or an insight on many various topics. He has always been extremely good at that, and Sophie is equally great at this little game, both of them being able to jump from one topic to the other without a flinch. Two minutes before the hour set for his date, he gives a gentle stroke on his wife’s hand and whispers in her ear : 

“Bathroom break, sorry.”

He gets up and apologizes to the people around the table, making his way out of the room. He walks to the bathroom, second door on the left after the corner of the corridor. Emmanuel pushes that same door exactly one minute and fifteen seconds after him. They stare at each other for ten long seconds before Emmanuel sighing. They start arguing in French, with Emmanuel much more at ease in this language to express those feelings : 

“I have been stupid, haven’t I ? Jealousy and everything. What was I thinking ? I mean… It’s ridiculous...” 

“Slightly.” nods Justin “But I understand. Although, you can’t be jealous of my wife like that, it’s going to put us both into trouble. We can’t risk exposing our relationship in the open...” 

“I know. I’m sorry. I had a terrible day. And this is no excuse, but I have been dying all day to ki…” 

Justin shuts him up by putting his hand on Emmanuel’s mouth and shaking his head, placing a finger on his own mouth. They are not alone in the bathroom. And none of them checked that before they started discussing personal matters. How could have they been so reckless ? Justin removes his hand and motions Emmanuel to the urinals. Maybe if they act like normal, the other man will not suspect anything. And since they have been using French, with a bit of luck on their side, the other one will not have been able to pick up anything. Justin takes place next to the French President and they hear the sound of a flush, and a lock opening. A man comes out to wash his hand, his back to both men’s back. Tension is palpable, and even though all three of them try to act if nothing happened, it is obvious that he can’t have ignored the fight happening between Justin and Emmanuel. 

“You two are reckless idiots.” says the man in French “And I should have bet with Charles, I would have made a fortune, I knew there was something going on between you two !” 

Both Justin and Emmanuel recognized that voice as being the one of Xavier Bettel, the Prime Minister of Luxemburg, one of the head of state they are the closest. And Charles is Charles Michel, the Belgian Prime Minister, another friend. The four of them spent a lot of time together, especially at NATO meetings, and developed a strong friendship. 

“You have an accent that can’t fool anyone, Justin.” jokes Xavier leaning against the wall “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us anything.” 

“It’s not really the kind of thing you scream around.” answers Emmanuel “And of course, you’ll have to keep that a secret.” 

“Our wives don’t know, and can’t know.” adds Justin “We trust you with that, Xavier.” 

“Guys,” says the luxembourgish “I am not going to say anything to anyone, that’s your problem. But I am delighted that you found each other. How long has this been going on between you ?” 

“A year.” admits Justin “It took us time to realise there was more than friendship going on between us.” 

“Charles, Gauthier and I had a discussion the other day about you guys,” adds Xavier “and we said that if ever one day you two were to have an affair it wouldn’t surprise us, because you are made for each other. And I know how much you both love your wives, and how complicated this whole situation might be, but you are really cute together.” 

Emmanuel blushes slightly and his friend places a friendly hand over his shoulder. 

“I’m definitely telling my husband about you both though. That’s a story he’ll be delighted to hear.” 

“But not a word to my wife.” warns Emmanuel “I know that your man and her are extra-close. Please, make sure he keeps his mouth shut.” 

“He will. Don’t worry. Have a nice evening you both, see you tomorrow.” 

The man smiles and retreats, leaving Justin and Emmanuel alone in the bathroom. The Canadian grabs his boyfriend by the collar of his jacket and drags him into one of the stall, closing the door on them, and locking the door with his free hand, his lips already pressed against the mouth of his lover. 

“Oh God !” whispers Emmanuel when they part lips to catch their breath “Let’s fight more often if you kiss me with that much passion afterwards !” 

“Shut up now.” 

They keep kissing, Justin’s hand on Emmanuel’s face, the French’s arms around his partner’s neck. It seems to last an eternity, but they know they can’t stay long. They stay in each other’s arms, forehead against forehead, laughing to have been busted, relieved that it was by a good friend, and not someone whose first move would have been to let their wives know. And the man is gay, so surely, he can understand why this relationship might be a struggle for his friends. 

“We have been so reckless.” says Emmanuel “All because I had been extremely jealous.”

“Your jealousy will be the death of us. I told you already.” 

“True…” admits Macron with a grin. 

They keep an ear out but no one opened the door since they are here, and they are still alone in the bathroom, which arranges them both. 

“I know how jealous you are, but you also know that Sophie and I had some struggles during the summer, love. And I love both of you, but here, tonight, she is my wife. And I will find a way to make it up to you for the missed lunch time of today, I swear. I know it is hard seeing me with her, but you should know that each time I see you taking Brigitte’s hand in yours, I wish you could take mine as well. I’m dying to make our relationship public. But we can’t. And we need to learn to live with it…” 

He pauses, someone entered into the bathroom and took place in the stall next to them. Justin wraps an arm around Emmanuel’s waist and the French President as silently as possible wraps his legs around the hips of his partner. No one can know that they are two in here, or that would be a disaster. Thankfully for both of them, they work on their abs during the week, and they can hold that position for quite some time. The next ten minutes are the longest of their lives, and they only allow themselves to sigh and breathe normally when the door shuts close after the other man left. 

“That was so close.” says Justin “We can’t stay here. Give me a kiss and we’re gone.” 

They kiss each other one last time and quit their stall, they arrange their shirts, ties, and jackets in the mirror, and Emmanuel helps Justin fixing his hair. They then go out of the bathroom, as if they had been chatting around the sink this whole time. They part ways in the reception room, but the French keeps an eye on his boyfriend long after he’s back on his seat. 

“I was about to send a rescue team.” says Brigitte to her husband. 

“Sorry.” he apologizes “I bumped into Justin, and we discussed on the way back. He told me about the… Lion King show he went to see with Sophie and the kids yesterday evening.” 

They had indeed discussed that in the morning, for about two minutes. 

“Oh,” reacts Brigitte “she told me about it too. I heard it’s really magnificent.” 

“It is.” says the Colombian President who has overheard their conversation “My wife and I saw that show when we came here last year, it is really something you should see once in your life.” 

“Definitely a must-see.” nods the husband of the New-Zealand PM. 

“If you want, I can probably find a way to get us some tickets.” says Emmanuel to his wife. 

“I can get you tickets.” says Donald Trump “Just let me know, Emmanuel.” 

“Thank you, Donald.” smiles the French President.

At the far end of the room, Justin is far more relaxed than before, but Sophie wondered where he had vanished for so long. And she noticed the change of mood. 

“Where were you ?” she whispers to him at one point when no one is paying attention to them.

“I bumped into Emmanuel on my way back.” explains the Canadian “We discussed away from all the noise, and didn’t realize we were gone for so long. Sorry. Were you worried ?”

“Maybe ?” 

She smiles and he laughs. Since that talk they had in August, their couple has grown stronger and they have learned to communicate better. And he adjusted to his double-life : keeping things afoot with Sophie, and extremely good with Emmanuel. Except when the French was moody and jealous. Justin draws his phone out of his pocket and types under the table a quick text for his boyfriend : 

**_I hope you feel better. I still got the taste of your apple juice on my lips, I love it._ **

Emmanuel needs to drink to hide his hilarity. Justin’s text brought a true smile to his lips, and he struggles to keep composure in front of the people who are seated next to him. They are playing a dangerous game, but this is one he finds thrilling. 

**_Jogging in Central Park, just you and me (and a semi-dozen of security-guards) tomorrow morning ?_ **

Justin laughs at this second text he just sent. This idea crossed his mind and he thought that’d be a good way to share a moment with his boyfriend, far from the pressure of their trip to New-York. And far from their wives. 

**_Only if you find a way for us to have a shower together afterwards._ **

**_Your cheeky boyfriend who has very naughty ideas thanks to you_ **

Emmanuel’s answer is just as expected and it makes Justin grin from ear to ear. 

“Good news I hope ?” whispers Putin to him. 

“Excellent” brushes off Justin dropping his phone in his pocket for the moment “Tell me, Vladimir, I saw you were very interesting in the swedish speech this morning, any particular reason for it ?” 

“She had interesting views on the place of women in the leadership of the world.” 

Sophie nearly spits out her drink in surprise as they are served their desserts. Justin takes advantage of the surprising good mood of the Russian to dig on that subject. His arrangement with Emmanuel will have to wait. 

“Do you think we should have more female leaders ?” he genuinely asks his counterpart. 

Putin takes a solid bite of strawberry pie before answering : 

“I think that some of them are really good.” 

He gives a quick glance at Theresa May and nods, before going on : 

“But most of them are inefficient. However we should learn to do with more female leaders, I think it is valuable to have a different point of view. And most women usually have to fight to arrive at the top of their countries, which mean they are ready to face the most difficult situations.” 

Sophie looks at her husband in disbelief and hides her embarrassment with food. What is going on with Putin ? He is acting so not like himself. But knowing the man, and what Justin told her about him, he is probably on an agenda here. 

“I believe that all leaders are equal, men or women,” tries Justin “we should treat them as the people they are, and act according to the values they promote and try to implement in their countries and politics.” 

“No one should be defined by their gender.” adds the President of Bangladesh “And the value of a person lies in their actions.” 

“I agree.” nods Prince Albert.

“And yet, if I am not mistaken,” replies Putin to the Prince “the hereditary line to your throne still places male heirs before girls.” 

The Princess looks at her husband with a ‘told-you-so’ look and Putin grins, finishing his dessert. Justin shakes his head, the good mood and resolutions of his Russian counterpart will only have last a couple of minutes. In the meantime, he thought about a possible solution for his morning run with Emmanuel, but he needs to check something, and then, he will have to use his charms, and pull some strings. 

“Excuse me for a minute.” he says taking a few steps back from the table and drawing his phone out from his pocket.

He calls one of his assistant, who answers almost immediately. 

“Good evening, Sir.”

“Good evening. I need a little service, I hope I’m not disturbing.” 

“Go ahead.” 

“Could you check if President Trump has any properties around Central Park ? Ideally with a gym club or something of the sort ?”

“Do you need something specific ? Boxing ? Treadmills ?”

“Showers.” laughs Justin “I need a place to shower and to change before coming back to the UN building. So any kind of facility will do. Please text me will all information you can gather, I’ll do the talking with Donald myself.” 

“I will do.” 

“Thank you so much.” 

“Have a good evening, Sir.”

“You too.” 

He hangs up and comes back to his seat. He quickly types a text for his boyfriend : 

**_I’m working on it, let the magic happen_ **

The conversation at the table has shifted on environmental issues, which seems to concern Vladimir very little. The Russian is on his phone, and Sophie turns to her husband to ask : 

“Have you checked if the kids are in bed ?” 

“No. But given the hour, I do hope they are.” he chuckles “Do you want me to call the nanny to check if it’s the case ?”

“Wasn’t it what you were doing ?” 

“I was planning my morning run, for tomorrow.” he explains “I’ll be up early.” 

“How early ?” she frowns. 

“I don’t know yet. Five thirty, something like that…” 

“Oh Justin !” she exclaims “Central Park, I guess ?”

“As usual. But there’s a twist…” 

He winks and she waits for his explanation. 

“I’m going for a run with Emmanuel. I skipped our lunch, and we have unmatching schedules for the rest of the week so…” 

“So you are taking your best friend on a very perilous jogging in a terribly crowded place ?” she laughs “Understood. Nice idea by the way.” 

Justin checks his phone, he received the indications from his assistant, now he just need to convince his American counterpart to do him this little favor. 

“I have a little negotiation to do.” says Justin to Sophie “I’ll be back soon.” 

He kisses her on the forehead and walks to the other end of the room. Many of the attendees have changed tables, talking to other head of states, chatting with friends, pursuing conversations started earlier in the day… Justin shakes hands with all people around the table, and he stops between Donald’s and Emmanuel’s chair, leaning with an elbow on the back of each one. 

“Justin !” exclaims the American President “To what do we owe the honor of your presence ?” 

“Donald,” says Justin with his brightest smile “I happen to know that you have a property called Trump Park here in New York…” 

“I do.” nods the business man 

Emmanuel frowns but keeps silent, his boyfriend asked him to let the magic happen. Both Melania and Brigitte are watching with interest, wondering what this is all about. 

“I also happen to know that there is a gym facility in the basement of this compound, and I was wondering if you’d agree on letting me use it, privately, for an hour tomorrow morning.” 

The American is startled and it takes him a few seconds to formulate an answer. 

“What for ?” 

“Emmanuel and I are going for a run in Central Park.” calmly states Justin resisting the urge to look at his partner “We need a place to shower and change before coming back here to the UN.” 

“Why not go back to your hotels ?” sarcastically jokes the US President. 

“Because we’d rather not be late.” explains Macron “Please Donald.” 

“Consider it a favor.” tries Justin.

“Maybe you could say yes, honey.” softly says Melania taking her husband’s hand “I mean, what would be the bad in that ?” 

“Why would I do that for you, Justin ?” laughs Donald “Why do I get in exchange ?” 

Ah. The business man is back. The Canadian Prime Minister represses a deep sigh. He should have known this would not have been that easy. 

“Bilaterals. Just you and me, no intermediaries. You have been dying to talk with me about immigration all week, choose your time, I’ll find a way.” offers Justin 

This is crazy, thinks Emmanuel. There is no interest in bargaining with Donald. But if a thirty minutes pointless discussion with the man can gives them an hour of freedom, Justin is ready to do whatever it takes. 

“No. You missed your shot at that.” answers the US President 

This time the sigh escapes Justin lips before he can realize it. Which gives Donald an advantage on him. The American president knows that the Canadian is desperate to obtain this deal. 

“I noticed that you were seated with my Russian friend.” indicates Trump pointing at Putin at the other end of the room, chatting with Theresa May’s husband “I want a bilateral with him. Tomorrow at noon. If you manage to arrange this for me, you’ll get that hour at the gym facility for you and Emmanuel, private access of course.” 

“This is insane.” cuts Emmanuel “Vladimir will never agree on meeting you. You guys didn’t even shake hands this morning !” 

“That is not my problem, guys. You wanted to talk business, business it is.”

“Fine.” sighs Justin “Fine.” 

He shakes his head in disbelief and turns to his boyfriend. 

“I’ll try my best.” he whispers to him “Vlad’ is in an exceptionally good mood today.” 

“Let me help. I’m friends with more than half of your table.”

“All of this for a morning run…” laughs the PM of New-Zealand as the two men pass by her. 

“It’s called soft-diplomacy, Jacinda.” laughs Justin “And a solid friendship.” 

Both of them go back to Justin’s table, already devising on how to convince Putin to sit down with Trump for a bilateral discussion. 

“He is going to laugh at you.” warns the French. 

“I know. But I need to try.” 

“What other option do we have ?” 

“None, if we intend to…” 

He left the end of his sentence pending, but Emmanuel understood. They both grab a cup of coffee on a passing by tray and Justin takes his seat back. Emmanuel is having a word with the guests at the table, using his charms on everyone, and spending a little bit of extra-time with Albert and Charlene with whom he is really close. He finishes with Vladimir Putin, warmly shaking hands with him. 

“It’s great seeing you here, Emmanuel.” says the Russian with his strong accent “How’s the dinner been going ?” 

“Surprisingly well.” laughs the French in response “But I’m here about that. As a friend…”

“You have a favor to ask ?” cuts Putin “Spill the beans, Emmanuel. We don’t have all night.” 

Justin chuckles and clears his throat. Emmanuel blushed slightly but he keeps composure as much as possible : 

“I’d like you to consider meeting with Donald Trump.” 

The Russian is about to protest but Emmanuel cuts him :

“Hear me out before you say anything : I know this is something huge, but I believe this would be beneficial for both of your countries.”

“Absolutely not.” laughs the Russian closing the discussion.

Emmanuel clenches his fist and sighs. This is going to be tricky. But he’s not one to give up that easily. 

“If I may,” intervenes Justin “I agree with Emmanuel. Both of you have been under the spotlight lately, and tension has been escalating between Russia and the US, and seeing that you are talking might help de-escalate. We need that, if we want to be able to engage in further discussions with neighbouring countries.” 

“You are a man full of resources, Justin.” says Putin with an appreciative smile “And you seem to be a good friend to our French boy here. But I don’t seem to grasp what you two are up to here.” 

He frowns and looks at them both in turn. Sophie swaps places with her husband so he can be seated next to the Russian President, and the three men can keep devising and trying to arrange for that bilateral meeting to happen. She let her hand on Justin’s thigh, and the Canadian mindlessly strokes it, which bothers Emmanuel very much but he works on controlling himself and not saying a thing. Not that he could even if he wanted to. 

“We are trying to work on our diplomacy skills. And we really believe that you should meet with President Trump.” explains Emmanuel with a hand on Putin’s shoulder “You don’t have to agree on anything he has to say, but think about the public message this could send ? And the message it could send to him ? That you set aside your differences to meet him…”

“Do you think he is able to grasp that ?” asks the Russian. 

None of them answers. This was a rhetorical question anyway. They all know the answer to this. 

“What would be the point of such a pointless discussion anyway ?” demands Vladimir. 

“We discussed it this morning,” jumps in Justin adding his hand on the Russian’s arm “the situation in Korea is concerning. The fate of the world might be at stake here, and you two have the power to weigh on that problem.” 

He removes his hand and looks into the eyes of his counterpart. He can see the processing in the brain of the Russian. He gives a quick glance to Emmanuel who nods imperceptibly. They are on a good path. 

“I know for a fact,” adds Emmanuel “that Donald has a free slot at noon tomorrow. And that if I’ll bring the idea myself, he’ll say yes to meeting you. Should I go back to him with that proposition ?” 

“I need to think, and check with my team if that is possible.” says Putin not completely convinced. 

He gets up and gets out of the room, already on the phone. Emmanuel lets himself down on the empty seat and says to his boyfriend : 

“Do you think it’ll do ?”

“Yes.” nods Justin “I have a good feeling about this. You know, alignment of planets in the universe, that kind of things…” 

“Or your natural bright smile.” whispers Sophie to her husband. 

She kisses him behind the ear, triggering an immediate response in his whole body, and he tightens the grip on her hand. 

“Not now, Soph’.” he warns turning his head to her and stealing a kiss from her “But we’ll go back to the hotel as soon as the thing with Putin is settled. And that my morning run with Emmanuel is settled.” 

Justin turns back to Emmanuel, removing his hand from Sophie’s. 

“At what time should I pick you up ? Is six okay ? That’ll bring us around six thirty in Central Park, we can run for about an hour, then we’ll have an hour to shower and change, and we should be back here on time.” 

“Works for me.” grins the French “You pick me up at my hotel ? Should I text you the address ?” 

“Please.” 

Emmanuel does it and when he lifts his eyes back up, he sees the Russian President waiting for his seat back. 

“Sorry.” says Emmanuel getting on his feet “Please take back your chair. What about tomorrow’s meeting ?” 

“You two are lucky I’m in a good mood tonight.” says Vladimir “Okay for a bilateral. But don’t hope too much from it…” 

They both refrain from smirking, but they achieved the nearly-impossible. After all, maybe the planets aligned for them. And they will have their special moment together. 

“Which one of you two will get the chance to break the news to our American friend ?” laughs the Russian. 

“That would be me.” answers Emmanuel “And I’d better get going now. Have a good evening and a good night, all of you.” 

He smiles and shakes a few more hands, and returns to his seat. There he steals a kiss from his wife’s lips and says to Donald. 

“Tomorrow at noon. You’re meeting with Vladimir. Justin and I want access to the showers of your building from around seven thirty tomorrow morning. For an hour.” 

“A deal it is.” answers Donald Trump shaking hands with him “I like making business with you, Emmanuel.” 

Brigitte catches Melania rolling eyes at her husband but she doesn’t point it out. All of them are tired, and now that the dinner is over, and things settled, they don’t have anything holding them here. Emmanuel intertwines fingers with his wife underneath the table and says to her : 

“What about we go back to the hotel ? I have to get up early tomorrow morning, and I could use some hours of sleep.” 

“I think this is a wonderful idea.” she replies. 

They say goodbye to their counterparts, and Emmanuel checks his phone on the way out. He chuckles seeing the message he receives from his boyfriend. 

**_Six at your hotel. I am very much looking forward to it, my naughty Emmanuel. Your persuasion tricks with Vladimir were impressive. Have a good night, see you tomorrow._ **

**_Don’t forget to bring a clean suit. And lube._ **

“I hope you don’t mind me going for a run with Justin.” he says to Brigitte when they go down the stairs to go to the car waiting for them.

“No, I understand. And it’ll do good to you. But are you sure you and him can run together ? He’s far more athletic than you are…” 

She’s teasing him and they both laugh as he opens the door for her to climb aboard the car. 

“I’ll be alright. And he’ll wait for me. I hope.” 

“I hope for you.” she laughs.

They kiss and the car goes into the circulation of the New-York City night. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think of this chapter ? 
> 
> Emmanuel's jealousy ? His grumpiness because of their missed lunch ? Them texting back and forth during dinner ? Justin refusing to let go until he knows exactly what is going on ? Their meet/fight in the bathrrom ? Them being busted (hopefully by a friend) ? The morning run plan ? Trump/Putin negotiations ? How far they are ready to go to sneak out and have some time together ?


	16. November 28th 2018 - New York, USA - A stolen night is all I’m asking for…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.
> 
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 16 : No one knows us (Banners) 
> 
> \-----
> 
> This chapter takes place on the day before the Argentinian G20 in Buenos Aires

“Manu’, your phone !” calls Justin from the bed. 

“What ?” answers the French from under the shower. 

“Your phone !” screams the Canadian louder jumping on his feet to bring the phone into the bathroom of the hotel room they are sharing for the night. 

“Oh fuck.” exclaims Emmanuel shampoo on his head, water running down his whole body “Who is it ?”

“Edouard Philippe.” says Justin leaning against the sink “That might be important.” 

“He has like a sixth sense to always call me when I’m unavailable.” says Emmanuel sighing “And he will call again.” 

“I guess you have to take it ?”

“I’d better take it, yes.” 

“Under the shower ?” chuckles the Canadian. 

“He doesn’t mind. He knows I was supposed to stop at an hotel for the night.” 

Justin hesitates. Emmanuel is working too much, and he’s not really at ease with him answering his phone while under the shower. 

“Let me help, then.” he says. 

He places the phone on the edge of the sink and removes the sweatpants in which he changed upon arrival hours earlier. Emmanuel reduced the stream of the shower and he watches with bewilderment his boyfriend join him underneath the water. 

“You take care of your call.” explains Justin in his ear “And I take care of you…” 

The sweet Canadian plants a kiss in the neck of his partner and grabs the shower head to rinse the soapy hair of his boyfriend. The French is electrified by this touch, and his hand is shaking when his phone starts ringing again. The name of his Prime Minister flashes on the screen and he accepts the call, sending it directly through speaker mode. 

“Sorry,” he immediately says “I’m under the shower. But if this is really urgent…” 

“You said you wanted a report on the mining in Argentina.” 

“I’m listening.” sighs Emmanuel “But stick to the facts.” 

Justin forces his partner to recline his head backwards, so he can wash off all of the shampoo from his hair. He then grabs the soap, and rips the plastic packaging open with his teeth. He gets the soap bar out of this packaging and he washes Emmanuel. He keeps an ear out on what the French President is discussing with his Prime Minister, but he himself got a full report on that subject earlier in the day. His hands are exploring the body he knows all too well. He could draw the curves and muscles of Emmanuel by heart, and he enjoys every single one of them. He stops the water for a moment, and kneels down, to be more at ease to wash the lower part of Emmanuel’s body. And he also wants to tease him, to see how Emmanuel would react. He starts by washing him, massaging his legs, from bottom to top, keeping his hands from his private parts for now. Emmanuel has to clench his fists, both of them, to refrain from moaning. It feels good, and they had both been craving for intimacy. Not just sex, but real intimacy, time spent together, hence the elaborate plan to meet here tonight. That was risky, and they will have to get up early in the morning, but it was worth it. The Canadian’s hands are now on the perfect arse of his boyfriend and Emmanuel is nearly finished with his Prime Minister. Justin presses his lips on his inner thigh just before he presses the end-call button and he has to hide his moan with a very-fake cough. Of course, the French Prime Minister notices, and questions his friend about it. 

“Emmanuel ? Are you alright ?”

“I’m… I’m good.” answers the cheeky President, shaking his head in disbelief at his boyfriend “Are we done about the mining ?”

“Sure. But I might need to call you back during the night.” 

“You can try.” laughs the French President “Not guaranteed I’ll answer.” 

They laugh and Emmanuel hangs up. Justin has been teasing his inner thighs during the whole end of the conversation, and Emmanuel doesn’t even get the chance to say anything that his boyfriend licks his hardening rod from base to top. 

“Hmmm, Prime Minister Trudeau, you live a dangerous life.” 

“Say that again.” teases the Canadian with a smirk. 

“Prime Minister Trudeau-ohoooh !”

Justin took him by surprise and started sucking the tip of his cock, just as he was repeating those words. By instinct, Emmanuel's fingers find their place on the back of his partner’s head, not to push him, but simply to mark his affection, and thankfulness. 

“Wait,” he says nonetheless before being taken completely by his pleasure “are you sure you want to do this here ? Are you comfortable on your knees ? And I’m all soapy and slippery, maybe…” 

“Oh shut up, Manu’ !” laughs the Canadian PM “You really need to learn not to overthink things. But to be honest, this shower floor is killing me.” 

Emmanuel extends his hand to help him get up and they kiss with passion, stepping underneath the pouring water of the shower. Emmanuel put his arms around the neck of his boyfriend, and Justin has a hand on Emmanuel’s bum, keeping a tight grip on it, while the other one is cupping is cheek. 

“You are a matter of temptation, my sweet Justin.” moans Emmanuel against his lips. 

“I know. Let’s find a better place for me to suck you off.” 

They keep kissing, turning the shower off, and stumbling together their way back to the bedroom. Emmanuel grabbed his phone on his way back, just in case, and he places it on the nearest surface he can find. Justin’s lips have travelled from his lips to his neck, and it is highly disturbing. Emmanuel’s whole body is fueled by desire, and Justin pins him against the wall, unable to wait any longer. He gets down on him, kissing a trail down his chest. Emmanuel is sensitive on his entire body, and it is a delight for his lover, who can’t help but tease him, using his tongue, lips, and hands. Emmanuel closes his eyes to enjoy the warmth of Justin’s mouth between his pectoral muscles, the softness of his palms on his waist, the icy-cold ring he can feel pressing on his hip, the well-known ringtone in his ears… The… ? Oh come on ! 

“Your phone.” says Justin blindly reaching for it “Take it, say to Edouard that you are busy.” 

Emmanuel takes the call and answers his Prime Minister. 

“Now is really not a good time, Edouard.” 

“In five minutes ?” tries the man. 

“That’ll be worse… I mean. I can’t discuss right now and…”

He gasped in surprise when Justin took his penis into his mouth and he hangs up in the fear of having to explain anything to his friend. 

“Did you hang up on him ?” frowns Justin, his mouth half-full of his lover’s erection “This is absolutely not suspect…” 

Emmanuel giggles like a teenager and struggles to master himself when his Prime Minister calls him back. He picks up the call nonetheless, barely hiding his hilarity, while Justin starts sucking him properly, a smirk on the lip, one hand teasing the testicles of his partner. 

“You’re not alone, are you ?” immediately questions Edouard Philippe.

“Not really.” chuckles the President.

“Look, I don’t want to know what you’re doing, or with whom you’re doing it, since I know it’s not your wife.” 

“How do you know ?” cuts Emmanuel suddenly worried. 

“Isn’t she in a plane to get to you ?” replies Philippe. 

He lets a few second pass and adds : 

“I still have a couple of information to pass onto you before tomorrow. Can you call me back when you’re available ? Please ?” 

“I will.” assures Emmanuel. 

He hangs up and hands the phone back to Justin who puts it on the floor next to them. At least they should not be bothered anymore. Emmanuel caresses the cheek of his partner, a lot of love and devotion in his eyes. Justin is sucking him expertly, teasing the tip of his cock with his tongue, circling the glans with each thrust of his lips. The French President moans calmly, letting the pleasure take him gradually. He is not one to be very vocal, but Justin knows that, and he doesn’t mind. Emmanuel’s phone starts ringing again and they both sigh at the same time. 

“Put him through speaker,” says Emmanuel “I’ll tell him off !” 

Justin taps to pick up the call and keeps going on the cock of his boyfriend while Emmanuel says : 

“I told you I’d call you back, Edouard ! What is that urgent ?” 

“Hmmm…” answers a voice that is clearly not the one of the French Prime Minister “Sorry to disturb Emmanuel, do you want me to call you back later ?”

Emmanuel’s cheeks went from red to white and he clears his throat saying : 

“Oh. Hm. Bruno,” says the President a little bit embarrassed “pardon me. What do you want ? Aren’t you in Buenos Aires already ?” 

“I am, but I wanted to be sure that you got the report on the environmental impact of Argentinian mining.” 

“I did.” says Emmanuel refraining his sighs of pleasure from the blowjob he is receiving “Edouard briefed me.” 

“Oh. Okay.”

“We’ll discuss it when I land tomorrow if you don’t mind. I need a little bit of time to review the information and see what we can use.” 

“Fine for me. Have a good night then ? When are you arriving ?” 

“Early afternoon. I pick up Brigitte in New-York in the morning and we fly straight to Buenos Aires. Good night, Bruno.” 

The call ends, and Emmanuel answers the silent question from his boyfriend : 

“Bruno Lemaire, Minister of Finances. And you should really stop what you are doing, if we want to have sex, because I won’t last long…” 

“Is he the tall one, grey hair, with glasses ?” asks Trudeau getting up to kiss his partner on the lips. 

“Yep.” nods Emmanuel pulling his man into a passionate kiss “And I’ll never stop hearing about that time I screamed at him on the phone.” 

“It was fun… And he’ll never know you were blowed by your handsome boyfriend while talking to him.” 

“Who says you’re handsome ?” jokes Macron. 

They laugh and Justin escapes his boyfriend’s arms to look into his travel bag for the toiletries, and more specifically the lubricant. He throws it to Emmanuel who fails at catching it and it ends up on the floor between them. 

“Wow. I knew you were no Michael Jordan,” exclaims Justin “but that was so bad…” 

“Shut up and get it.” 

Justin who is still crouched down over is travel bag gets on all fours to pick up the tube of lube, but Emmanuel approaches and puts his foot over it. Justin lifts his eyes to meet the blue ones of his partner. 

“I am going to fuck you. Right on this floor…” 

“On the floor ?” reacts the Canadian blushing hard 

“Oh yes. You look so nice like that. Don’t you dare moving.” 

Emmanuel picks up the lube from the floor and kisses his boyfriend on the lips. He then goes behind him and kneels down between his legs. Justin is obedient, he has not moved, but he’ll quickly get tired, and Emmanuel wants him to feel as comfortable as possible. He leans over him, kissing his neck, and behind the ear, on his sensitive spot, sending a shiver down Justin’s spine. 

“You can lie down on the floor, honey.” whispers the French President in his lover’s ear “It’ll be better for you and me.” 

“As you wish.” 

The French helps him settle down, on his stomach, and by habit, the Canadian spreads his legs a little bit. 

“You are so ready for it…” laughs Emmanuel “Let’s see how your hole feels about it.” 

Emmanuel pours some lubricant on his boyfriend’s arse and introduces his index finger inside his lover who squeals in pleasure. The French curls his finger and teases the prostate of his partner, his free hand keeping Justin pinned on the floor. The Canadian clenches his fist and moans indecently his boyfriend’s name. Emmanuel smiles and plants a kiss on Justin’s shoulder. 

“I want to feel you inside of me.” groans the impatient PM “Please, take me.” 

“You are becoming more and more impatient, Justin. I love this.” 

“Please. It’s been months.” 

“Two months, and four days.” precises the French “Tell me again what you want.”

“I want you.” grunts Justin, still fingered thoroughly by his lover. 

Emmanuel kisses him once more behind the ear and gets back on his knees to position himself. He pushes himself inside Justin, and his cock breaches through the offered hole. 

“OH GOD !” he lets escape feeling the flesh all around his rod “I forgot how good it felt.” 

“I didn’t.” sighs Justin pressing his forehead on the floor.

Emmanuel thrusts himself deeper and Justin moans in response. The French President strokes the muscular arse of his partner while he fucks him, his pelvis moving back and forth with force and rhythm. Justin is nothing but moans and panting and one of his hands reaches for his lover’s one. The French intertwines fingers with him, leaning over him, pressing his body against his back, wrapping his other arm around his waist. 

“I love you, Justin.” he murmurs in his ear 

“All the same !” manages to exclaim the Canadian between two grunts of pleasure 

Emmanuel plants soft kisses at the base of his neck, and on his shoulder. Carried away by his own approaching orgasm, he gently bites on the skin of his partner. 

“Oh ! Manu !” screams Justin taken by surprise 

But Emmanuel is not listening anymore. He is a bundle of pleasure, and his body arches as he comes deep inside Justin, a guttural moan dying on his lips. He is short of breath and needs an awfully long time to reconnect with reality which worries Justin slightly. 

“Manu ?” he calls turning his head to try looking at him 

“I am sorry.” says the French kissing him where he bit him earlier “I got carried away.” 

“Tell me you did not leave any mark on my skin.” 

“I think not.” replies his boyfriend “Don’t worry. How are you feeling ?”

“Dissatisfied.” 

“I’m going to pull out, and then I’m going to take care of you.” 

The French President withdraws from inside of him, and he helps Justin get on his feet. The Canadian feels a little worn out but Emmanuel pushes him towards the bed, so he can blow him to oblivion. Being fucked on the floor aroused him, too much for his own sake, and his erection stands gloriously between his legs, much to his boyfriend’s delight. 

“Please don’t hold back.” instructs the playful French “I want to hear you scream my name.” 

“Oh, I will. I just hope the rooms here are soundproof enough.” 

They laugh and start by kissing, Emmanuel on top of his boyfriend, his softening intimacy rubbing against the very hard throbbing cock of his lover. The soft lips of the Canadian have the taste of the lemonade he drank before meeting with Emmanuel, and the French hasn’t grown tired of it. 

“I’ll keep in mind that you are crazy about lemonade.” chuckles the PM

“Mmh. I can’t determine if it’s you or the lemonade that drives me crazy just this instant.” 

“Then why don’t you try kissing me elsewhere ? To be sure ?” he suggests 

“Where ? Show me.” 

This little game makes them giggle a lot, and Justin proceeds to point a several places on his body, and Emmanuel kisses each one of them, with a lot of devotion. It is a fun game between them, and Justin triggers his own sensitive spots in the process. And when it becomes too unbearable, and that he doesn’t want to wait any longer, he points at the base of his penis. 

“Give me your hands, Emmanuel, please.” he asks 

They intertwine fingers, on both hands, and the Canadian strokes the back of his boyfriend’s hands, with his thumbs while the French sticks his tongue out to lick the flesh rod from its base to its top. He has always been fond of lollipops as a kid, and he believes this might have helped his experience as a sucker. He then goes back down, tracing a line along the vein he sees pulsing under the skin. 

“Ooooh” groans the Canadian tilting his head backwards, his lips parted “That feels good.” 

Emmanuel goes back up, but this time, his tongue circles around the glans, and teases the tip, from which precum is dripping. Justin tightened his grip on his boyfriend’s hand, and Emmanuel starts sucking him. He can only take half of his dick in his mouth, but this is more than enough for Justin who is barely containing his screams. The room better be soundproof. The expert tongue of the French President is wrapping around the extra-sensitive rod of his lover, enjoying every single one of his screams. The President needs to use all his body strength to pin his boyfriend underneath him, on the bed, as he gets restless when excited. And the closer he gets to orgasm, the more uncontrollable it becomes. 

“I’m going to come.” warns Justin 

It doesn’t matter to Emmanuel. He keeps sucking, going faster even, his tongue playing more and more with the more and more sensitive cock in his mouth. 

“OH ! OH MANU !” screams Justin when he finally reaches cloud nine, closing his eyes into a powerful orgasm.

He floods Emmanuel’s mouth with sperm, and the French swallows that load, and licks his partner’s cock clean. He then lies down next to him, kissing him in the neck, while Justin still tries to catch his breath. 

“This was absolutely out of this world, love.” he says to Emmanuel turning to him and taking his face into his hands “Thank you so much.” 

“Your pleasure face is reward enough.” answers the French President. 

They smile at each other and exchange a tender kiss. 

“You should hop under the shower while I get back to work.” says Emmanuel. 

“I’m not leaving you. That was the whole point of us spending a whole night together, remember ?” 

“Intimacy. Right.” sighs his boyfriend “I’m sorry, but I really have to call back my Prime Minister.”

“I know. I’ll hit the bathroom quickly while you settle to work.” 

Emmanuel looks through his travel bag for his laptop, and a clean pair of underwear. He jumps into them and sits on the bed, his back resting against the wall, his laptop open on his knees. He glimpses at Justin looking at himself backwards in the bathroom mirror. 

“What are you doing ?” he says.

“Trying to check if…” starts Justin turning his head the other way around but not properly seeing the back of his shoulder. 

“I told you you had no marks, you moron. Now come back here, and bring me my phone, please.” 

Emmanuel chuckles and Justin comes back with the French’s cellphone in hand. Emmanuel dials his Prime Minister and Justin curls up on the bed, his head on his boyfriend’s chest. His lover strokes the back of his head with soothing motion, ready to type in the information given by his friend with his free hand. 

“I’m listening.” says Emmanuel to his Prime Minister. 

“Okay,” starts the man “First of all, you need to make sure that the North-American Trade Agreement that is going to be signed in parallel to the summit includes at least a mention on human rights. We got intel that Trump ruled out the clause that mentioned it, and it would be in the best interests of the world to…”

“What a bastard.” mutters Trudeau rolling his eyes “I spent two months on that single clause.” 

Emmanuel smiles and keeps caressing Justin’s head in circular motion, playing with his hair, strangely not triggering any response from his partner. The President types a note about this agreement on his document and keeps in mind to discuss it with both his boyfriend and their Mexican counterpart. 

“Then, one of the three main agenda is sustainable food supply. We got in touch with our European allies on that point, and we’d like to put forward an initiative on Africa, as was previously discussed, to ensure safe access to basic resources in the most remote parts of the continent.” keeps going Edouard Philippe. 

Emmanuel struggles to type with only one hand and his lover points at the screen. 

“You skipped a word here, love.” 

He did not intend to say it that loud, and Emmanuel frowns at him. 

“Silence.” he whispers.

“What did you say ?” questions Edouard Philippe.

“Nothing.” brushes off Emmanuel “I was not talking to you. Please go ahead.” 

“You’re not alone ?”

“No. But I’m still listening. Please.”

“We really need to discuss those working habits of yours, Emmanuel.” laughs his friend “This African initiative, many countries will try to join it on the outside and bail once in. We need to ensure that all the promised help effectively ends up on the table. We can’t spare a dollar when it comes to feeding people in need.” 

The Canadian Prime Minister nods in approval, and Emmanuel knows they will at least have an ally in him. 

“We also need to make sure that feeding people is not in any way a cover for profit making. You need to underline that in your speech.” adds Edouard “Please.” 

“Noted. Anything more ?”

“Be careful with the Chinese President, we haven’t heard that much from their part in the last few weeks, and I have no idea what they’re after.” 

“I do.” whispers Justin planting a soft kiss on his boyfriend’s belly. 

“Thanks, Edouard. That was a much needed update. And thanks for updating me on the mines, I had Bruno on the line who was worried I hadn’t be briefed.” 

“He should be sleeping at that hour of the night. So should you.” laughs the French PM. 

“You know I am not much of a sleeper.” 

“Will you spend the night alone ?” tries his friend. 

“Okay, Edouard, I think you’ve had enough for tonight. Thank you for the updates. Bye.” 

“It was worth the try. Bye, Emmanuel.” 

They laugh and Emmanuel hangs up. He keeps typing on his laptop for a couple more minutes. Adding ideas and names to the document he opened, Justin watches him do in silence, not wanting to interrupt the stream of ideas. 

“Sorry.” finally says Emmanuel “The Chinese President ?” 

“He is all in for the trade war with the Americans, that’s his only preoccupation.” explains the Canadian looking up at his boyfriend “Do not expect him to position on any other matter.” 

“Hmm.” nods Macron adding a couple of sentences to his document “Thank you, honey. The North-American agreement, how will that go ?” 

“Trump is outnumbered, and his administration will have no other choice but to back us up on this clause. We can not agree on free trade for companies that don’t respect the basic rights for their employees…” 

“Considering that these basic rights are widely different from country to country ?” ironically answers the French.

Justin arches an eyebrow and Emmanuel sighs. 

“Excuse-me. That was… uncalled for.” 

The French President closes his document and checks the hour on the corner of his screen. it’s only ten and a half. 

“What about…” he starts “What about we watch a movie together ?” 

This time Justin is too puzzled to stay lying down. He sits down in the bed and looks at his boyfriend in disbelief. 

“This is the most romantic stuff you ever proposed to me.”

“I’d like some cuddle time with you.” admits Emmanuel “For once…” 

“I’d very much like that too.” 

They smile and Justin kisses him. 

“What do you want to watch ?” he asks his boyfriend while looking for a pair of sweatpants to hop in bed with him.

“Anything you’d like.” shrugs the French “I have Netflix, or I can look on the Internet to…”

“Netflix’s good.” smiles Justin “Come here.” 

Emmanuel sits between Justin’s legs, the powerful arms of the Canadian keeping him warm and safe. The unruly hair of his boyfriend are tickling his neck, and Emmanuel smiles. 

“That one.” says Justin pointing at a movie title while Emmanuel is browsing through the Netflix library. 

“Stranger by the lake ?” asks his boyfriend for confirmation “Hmm. Why not.” 

He checks the synopsis and nods. Justin kisses him in the neck, and questions : 

“In French ?”

“If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t.” 

They exchange a kiss and start watching the movie together. They try to keep their hands off of each other but the hottest parts of the movie are a real challenge for them. But they manage to control themselves. Mostly. Emmanuel tries to shove his hand inside Justin’s sweatpants but the Canadian prevents him to do so. 

“Please don’t.” he says kissing the French on the cheek “I really want that too, but the movie is soon over, and we need to grab some sleep.” 

“Are you tired ?” answers Emmanuel with concern. 

“We can finish the movie.” assures the PM “But then, I’ll be happy to lie down next to you.” 

As soon as the movie is done, Emmanuel turns his laptop off and sets it aside on the nightstand with their phones. He grabs his own and makes sure an alarm-clock is set at four in the morning. That is the latest hour they can get up if they both want to be on time to catch their planes and not raise any suspicions on their nocturnal activities. Especially Emmanuel who needs to be back on the Presidential plane before his wife arrives to join him. 

“All set ?” 

“We’re good.” smiles Emmanuel lying down next to his boyfriend “I can’t believe I get the privilege to sleep next to you.”

“It’s only our second full night together.” 

“I know. My handsome, sexy Canadian…” 

Emmanuel grins and kisses Justin tenderly. 

“You need to sleep now.” he adds “You’ll be so tired tomorrow.” 

“But it was all worth it.” 

“Shut up and close your eyes.” 

Justin chuckles and settles more comfortably in the bed. Emmanuel snuggles against him, a hand on his chest, just above the heart, rocked to sleep by the steady rhythm of his boyfriend’s heartbeat. 

They are woken up in the morning by both their phone’s alarms setting off at the same time and they grunt, pulling the covers over their heads in the hope of getting two more minutes of sleep. They moved during the night, and Justin is now hugging his boyfriend from behind, both arms trapping him and keeping him against him. 

“ ‘Morning, love.” he says softly.

“Time to wake up, sleepyhead.” answers the French hitting snooze on both of their cellphones “How was your night ?”

“Delicious. How was yours ?”

“Good.” 

“That’s all ?” 

Justin let go of his boyfriend and the French turned around to look at him. He reads disappointment in his eyes and feels the urge to explain. He places a hand on his cheek and speaks : 

“I am a bit jet-lagged. And not used to sleep with someone that… muscular ? And warm ?”

“Are you saying that I kept you from sleeping ?” questions the Canadian blushing slightly. 

“Just a little. But I’ll get used to it. Besides, once I managed to fall asleep, I slept well.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t. Sleeping next to you is an honor…” 

They smile at each other and kiss for a couple more minutes before getting up. Justin immediately goes for the shower, and Emmanuel looks for the toiletries in his bag to shave and prepare for the day. Justin hums under the shower, and Emmanuel is already half-dressed when the Canadian finally steps out of the water. Emmanuel got into some casual clothes, it will be better for the plane ride, and he’ll change back into a suit upon arrival in Argentina. 

“I like those jeans.” says Justin, his mouth full of toothpaste foam “They make you a killer arse.” 

“Thanks, honey.” answers Emmanuel lacing his sneakers “I really wish we had some more time together you know.” 

“I know.” 

The Canadian keeps brushing his teeth while Emmanuel gathers his belongings. 

“When is Sophie joining you ?” asks the French President.

“In two hours. At the plane.” says Justin checking the time on his phone “When does Brigitte land ?”

“In forty minutes, then she needs no more than fifteen to join me.” answers Emmanuel. “Which mean I should be on my way rather sooner than later.” 

“I mean… we’re seeing each other tonight but… nothing will be the same.” 

“I know.” says Emmanuel grabbing his jacket “And I am glad we managed to sneak this little night together in out schedule.” 

He takes Justin’s face in his hands and kisses him with a lot of passion. 

“I love you Justin. I love you so much.” 

“I love you too.” murmurs the Canadian against his lips “See you tonight, love. And try to sleep in the plane, please.” 

“You too.”

Emmanuel storms off the door but Justin catches him by the arm and places a small object in his hand. 

“Your phone, Emmanuel. You can’t forget your phone.” sighs Justin. 

“Thanks.” 

The Canadian shakes his head and lets him go, watching him walk away into the distance. There he meets up with his security service and Justin goes back into his hotel room, alone, but the happiest he’s ever been, to have shared this night with his lover. Little moments like the ones they shared are the ones making their relationship grow stronger, and he really hopes Emmanuel feels the same. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think about this chapter ? The elaborate plan to be able to spend a night together prior to an international engagement ? Edouard Philippe calling at the worst moment ever ? Justin not minding at all that his boyfriend is on a phone call ? Them sharing a shower together ? The steamy sex in the hotel room ? Them being nearly caught over the phone ? Emmanuel snapping at his Finance Minister ? The sex on the floor ? Emmanuel then "rewarding" Justin ? Emmanuel working after they made out ? Them watching a movie together ? Falling asleep together ? Getting up in the morning ? 
> 
> This was the last chapter for 2018 - next one will be set in January 2019. And I'd rather warn you, between the G20 in Argentina, and May 2019 J and E didn't see each other for real. So it'll be "distance" chapters... But after that, they saw each other on a regular basis all summer (Justin went to Paris more than once a month that summer ^^) !


	17. January 15th 2019 - Paris, France / Ottawa, Canada - Two men and a nearly-teenager

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.
> 
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 17 : Quite Miss Home - James Arthur (find an acoustic version if you can) 

Emmanuel sighs and checks the hour on his wristwatch. Once again he got carried away and completely lost track of time. He should be sleeping at such an hour. But he is still in his office. And he needs to clear his head before going to bed. He’d like to call Justin via video, but he remembers last minute that his boyfriend mentioned watching a ice-hockey game on TV in the evening. He launches a regular call instead and waits. 

"Am I disturbing ?" he asks when Justin picks up.

"Never but… My son is asleep on my knees and I'm in the middle of the living room, watching the game."

"Do you want me to call you back later ?" 

"No please, go ahead.” chuckles the Canadian playing with his son’s hair “There's only me and my son, but it’ll have to stay a living-room appropriate conversation." 

“Understood. I’ll try my best.” laughs Emmanuel “Xavier or Hadrien ?” 

“Xavier.” answers his lover “Ella has her ice-dancing lesson, and Soph’ took Didi ice-skating in the meantime. She thought we could use a boys evening. But the hockey game is the lamest I have seen in a while and Xavier dozed off quite some time ago…” 

They laugh together and Justin leans, trying not to wake up his son, to grab the remote and lower the sound of the TV. He then checks the time and frowns : 

“Shouldn’t you be in bed ?” 

“I should. But I was trying to see what I could do to lighten the social protests in my country and I got carried away.”

“As usual.” comments the Canadian “Was it productive at least ?”

“Hardly. I’m no magician, the money isn’t coming down from trees. If I inject more into the economy, I will have to cut from another budget…” 

The French let a deep sigh escape his lips. This is an inextricable situation. But he didn’t call his boyfriend to talk about work. 

“How was your day ?” he asks, changing subject.

“Cold.” answers the Canadian “Freezing even. But I got to walk the kids to school in the morning, which you know is a real highlight. Then business as usual. I got to visit an interesting photography exhibition though…”

“Oh. Tell me more !” 

Anything to drag his mind far from the yellow vests protests and the tensions in his country. Emmanuel sits back in his seat, closing his eyes to listen to the soothing voice of his lover. Justin has a talent for telling stories, and it usually helps him relax. 

“It was a Canadian-born photographer, and the exhibition was a selection of the pictures he shot during his backpacking trip through Central America. Portraits of course, you should have seen those eyes, and the smiles of the children from Nicaragua. Beautiful. And as a father, I have to admit it melted my heart.” 

He pauses for a second, and lowers his eyes to the peaceful face of his son, still sleeping on his lap. He caresses the cheek of the boy and continue talking to his boyfriend. 

“There were a couple landscapes, but what struck me the most were the colors of the small villages. It was vibrant and melancholic all at once, and you could really see that there was more than what you had in front of the eyes at first.” 

“I like when you’re telling me about art, Justin. I could listen to you all night.” 

“You are being silly, Emmanuel.” 

“Have you ever been to those countries ?” 

“Costa Rica and Panama, quite a long time ago.” says Justin “What about you ?” 

“Panama, Honduras, and Belize.” says the French President “But not for long. And I stayed mainly in the big cities.”

Justin gets distracted by the game on TV and misses the next question of his boyfriend. 

“Justin ? Justin !” calls Emmanuel “Did you hear what I say ?” 

“Hmm.. Sorry.” replies the Canadian nervously scratching the back of his neck “I got distracted by the hockey.” 

“Is hockey more interesting than me ?”

“You know it’s not like that, love.” 

Justin stops and bites his lip. Maybe he should not call Emmanuel “love” in the middle of his living-room, even if his son is sound asleep. 

“Sorry, I slipped.” he adds “And you will always come before hockey, but that action was really interesting. But now the game is over, and I’m all yours.” 

“Say that again.”

“I’m all yours.” softly repeats the Canadian PM “All yours. Now tell me, what were you saying ?”

“I was wondering if you saw the pictures of the gargantuan buffet that Trump hosted yesterday for football players ?”

“Oh you mean the fast-food binging thing ?” reacts the Canadian laughing “Mcdonald's, Burger King and Domino’s ? Come on, what was he thinking ?! He is the President of the United States, and I feel really sorry for the American Institutions when I see what he is doing to them. Really.” 

“Well, at least he actually ate with them for once.” 

“Don’t start me on this !” says Justin “You know how much it pisses me off to see him not eating at all in official dinners because he only eats junk food, and he sips diet coke straight out of the can. I mean… Diet coke ? Who even drinks diet coke ? This thing’s disgusting.” 

Emmanuel knew his boyfriend would rant. He always does when it comes to their American counterpart. The relation is notoriously cold between the two man, and their politics and styles couldn’t be more different. And yet, they are neighbours. But that fast-food reception was one of a kind and got the whole world talking. 

“And do you think about those poor football players ? The only thing they will be remembered for will not be that they won the championship,” continues the PM “but that Trump was extra-proud of himself to offer them their favorite type of food. Not to mention the ocean of prejudice this is coming from.” 

“You know that prejudice is Trump’s middle name.” jokes Emmanuel.

“Is it ? I thought it was John.” laughs the Canadian in response. 

They are still laughing when Xavier starts waking up. He is a bit disoriented, and Justin keeps playing with his hair, until his son opens his eyes and looks at him. 

“Did I fall asleep ?” asks the young boy.

“Yes.” nods the Canadian “Just a minute, Emmanuel.” he adds to the man he has on the line “Are you hungry, Xavier ? What about dinner ?” 

“Hmm… Sure, Dad.” says the boy “What are we having ?” 

“I think you Mom left us something in the fridge. Go wash your hands, I’ll go and see.” 

Justin kisses his son on the forehead and walks to the kitchen. 

“Do you want me to call back later ?” suggests Emmanuel “You should have dinner with your son.” 

“Later ? It’s past midnight in France, Emmanuel.” replies Justin “Either you go to bed, or we keep talking. We can even pick up via video, if you’re not afraid of my son.” 

“I am not.” laughs the French President.

“Alright. Let me call you back then.” 

Justin drops his phone on the kitchen counter and looks for the leftover lasagna Sophie left for their dinner. He finds the dish and tosses it in the oven before calling his boyfriend back on video. Emmanuel picks up the call just when Xavier comes back into the kitchen. 

“Oh, hi, Emmanuel.” he says waving at the man “How are you ?”

“Fine. What about you ?” 

“I’m good.” answers the boy “Isn’t it late night in France ?” 

Xavier glances at the row of clocks they have above the kitchen door with hours of big cities around the world. It’s nearly one in the morning in Paris and he frowns. 

“It is.” chuckles the French President “But I am working late, as usual.” 

“Dad always says you’re working too much.” 

Emmanuel refrains from laughing as he sees Justin rolling his eyes. Once again his son doesn’t know when to shut up. But Emmanuel seems to appreciate the honesty. 

“Your Dad is certainly right. I work too late anyway, but it’s an habit that I have trouble quitting. At least your father is a little bit more balanced.” 

“Could you set the table, please Xavier ?” demands Justin giving him plates and cutlery. 

“What are we having for dinner ?” asks his son in response.

“Lasagna.” says his father “I’m re-heating them in the oven.” 

“Which you failed at turning on.” sighs loudly the teenager pressing on a button on the control panel “Well done, Dad !” 

Justin blushes and clears his throat, embarrassed to have been ridiculed by his son in front of the man he loves. But Xavier was right, their oven has the property of being overly complicated, and he forgot to press the button to turn it on, despite setting the temperature and mode correctly. Probably because he was distracted by his conversation with the French. 

“You shouldn’t be talking to me like that, Xavier.” he says in his son’s ear as he pulls him into a hug from which the boy escapes quickly. 

They finish setting the table and Justin bends forward, his elbows resting on the kitchen counter to keep talking to Emmanuel while their dinner heats. His son takes the same position, next to him, and the French smiles at them. 

“Xavier, you are really looking more and more like your father. How’s basketball going by the way ?” 

“Good.” smiles the young boy happy that his father’s friend got some interest into what he is doing

“Your father told me you have a big game coming up next weekend,” continues Emmanuel “how do you feel about it ?”

“Really nervous.” admits Xavier “But I think we can win that one. The opposite team has been on a losing-streak since the beginning of the season…”

“Which doesn’t mean they will be any easier to beat than another team.” adds Justin smiling at his son. 

“I know, Dad !” sighs the boy rolling his eyes “Focus, play your game, and keep your head cold. You told me a hundred times already !” 

“Maybe your father is anxious about your game ?” suggests the French “Because he’d like to see you succeed ? And have fun ?” 

“Having fun is the most important.” repeats the Canadian planting a kiss on the top of his son’s head “Keep that in mind, would you ?” 

“Okay.” agrees Xavier “And you Emmanuel, what kind of sports do you do ?”

“If only I had time to do any !” exclaims the French President “With my busy schedule, I don’t do much, but I hit the gym on a regular basis, to keep fit and in shape. And as we say, a healthy mind in a healthy body.” 

“Who said that ?” asks Xavier. 

“Juvenal, a latin poet.” answers his father stunning both his son, and his boyfriend “Don’t look at me like that,” he adds “it’s memories from my college years.” 

Emmanuel shakes his head in disbelief and Xavier rolls his eyes once more. 

“Beware, Xavier.” warns Justin “Stop rolling your eyes at me, you know how rude it is, and your mother and I already told you about this.” 

Emmanuel is not used to see his lover display that much authority in front of his children, and he is a bit surprised. But from what Justin has been telling him : Xavier has been testing them more and more lately, teenage years not helping at all. Emmanuel doesn’t know what it is to raise a child, and especially at that age, but he tried to lend an attentive ear to his friend’s complaints earlier in the week. Isn’t that what boyfriends are for after all ? Emmanuel opens the drawer of his desk and he looks for the pack of sweets he opened earlier in the day. He is craving for something sweet. He shouldn’t, especially at this hour of the night, but he’ll compensate tomorrow. 

“What are you eating ?” questions Xavier, curious. 

Emmanuel shows him the package through the camera and the boy exclaims : 

“Oh ! We don’t have those in here ! Are they good ?” 

“Pretty good.” nods the French President “It’s strawberry flavored.” 

Justin who escaped for a minute to wash his hands comes back and frowns at his boyfriend binging on sweets. 

“Come on, Manu’ ! Sweets ?! At a quarter past one ?!” 

“I only had two.” protests Emmanuel grinning from ear to ear which makes Xavier crack into laughter. 

“Are those the strawberry ones ?” asks the Canadian PM. 

“Hmm.” nods Emmanuel chewing on his sweets “The ones I sent you in your birthday package.” 

“Damn. I have a sweet tooth for those ones. You’ll need to send me more. And I haven’t dared make the kids try them yet…” 

“I’ll make sure you get some more.” laughs Emmanuel “But please, don’t keep them all for yourself. I don’t want to get in trouble with your wife or kids.” 

The cheeky French winks at his lover’s son and Xavier lifts in thumb in approval. Justin will no longer be able to hide the candies in his office. 

“Where did you say your Sophie was, by the way ?” 

“Ice-rink.” answers Xavier quicker than his father “My sister thinks she can be the next figure-skating superstar, and Dad said she should take some lessons then…” 

“If you’ve watched the Olympics,” completes Justin trying to overlook the fact that Xavier is borderline polite “Canada won the gold medal in figure-skating. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are my daughter’s new role models, she was mesmerized in front of the TV, half of the nation got a sudden passion for figure-skating. I guess it could be good for her to be passionate about something. Sophie brings her to her lesson once a week, and today she brought Hadrien along, so they could have a fun mother and son moment in the meanwhile.” 

“Isn’t he a bit too young to ice-skate ?”

“Emmanuel,” chuckles Justin “we’re Canadians, it runs into our veins. We were born for winter sports.” 

They laugh and the French President looks at his watch. He should probably go to bed. And let his boyfriend enjoy his dinner with his son. 

“I should probably get going,” he says to his partner “it’s really getting late, and now I have to brush my teeth again.” 

“Well, you shouldn’t be eating sweets in the middle of the night.” chuckles the Canadian “Let’s talk again tomorrow then ?” 

“With pleasure. Have a good evening. You too, Xavier, it was nice talking to you !” 

“Bye Emmanuel, have a good night !” answers the boy waving at the French and letting himself down on a chair at the table. 

Justin steps between his son and the screen of the phone and he mutters a quiet “I love you” to his boyfriend before hanging up with him. Emmanuel blushes, and reciprocates. The call ends with Justin and he pockets his phone. He closes his laptop, put some order into the files on his desk, turn off the lamp, and walks to his private apartments. Nemo, his black dog, woken up by his footsteps echoing in the empty halls come to find him and the President stops for a minute to pet him. He then continues and starts stripping down on his way to the bathroom. He keeps thinking about Justin, and how he likes seeing him, especially when he’s casually taking care of his kids. This is a cute side of him that he really likes. 

Emmanuel takes a quick shower and brushes his teeth before joining his wife into their bed. he lies down next to her and kisses her on the top of the head. She opens her eyes and asks : 

“Do you really have to work that late ?”

“I got carried away, I’m sorry.” he answers “And then I had a chat with Justin.”

“In the middle of night ?”

“It’s early evening in Canada.” 

“You boys are insane.” 

She laughs and Emmanuel kisses her tenderly. He closes his eyes and they both fall asleep almost instantly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did you think of this short chapter ? Emmanuel is the need of calling his boyfriend before going to bed ? Justin spending the evening with Xavier ? The conversation between Emmanuel and Justin ? Justin slipping and letting a few cute affectionate words out despite his son being here ? The video call ? Xavier noticing that Emmanuel should be in bed ? Emmanuel getting interested in Xavier's activities ? Justin calling out his son because he's borderline polite ? Emmanuel eating candies in the middle of the night ? The sweet words they exchange in secret at the end of their call ?


	18. March 16th 2019 - In a car, on the way back from La Mongie ski resort - France / Ottawa, Canada - Burning grounds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.
> 
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 18 : If the world was ending (Jp Saxe ft. Julia Michaels)
> 
> \---- 
> 
> A tiny bit of context might be necessary for this chapter : it's happening during one of the most violent weekends of the yellow vests protests. Emmanuel was skiing with Brigitte in la Mongie, after an international trip. He really needed that break...

Emmanuel is scrolling through the latest news on Twitter. His country is on fire, the Champs-Elysées are burning, quite literally, and his car is racing back to Paris. He feels lost, sad, and a bit desperate. Brigitte stayed for the weekend in La Mongie, where he was supposed to spend the end of the week with her and a few friends, but given the social tensions in the capital city, he had no choice but to go home. As usual, when he feels like that, he turns to the only person that can help : his boyfriend. He starts by sending a text to Justin : 

**_Are you free to talk ? Please…_ **

His lover answers in less than five minutes : 

**_Aren’t you supposed to be skiing ? I have half-an-hour before my next meeting, if that’s enough for you._ **

Emmanuel sighs. That’ll have to do. Justin has been quite busy lately, and they are having less and less time to talk, which is impacting them both. And to add to this mess : they have no international meeting scheduled until June, which mean they won’t see each other in the meantime. The French President asked to be left alone in his car with his thoughts, so it is with no shame that he video calls his boyfriend. 

“Hi.” says Justin over a half-finished plate of pasta “Oh you look terrible. Why are you in a car ?”

“Paris is on fire.” sighs his boyfriend “I’m on my way back home.” 

“Oh.” 

Justin stopped eating, his fork mid-way between his plate and his mouth. He has not been checking the news regarding his boyfriend’s country in the last hours but he probably should have. A good thing he decided to eat in his office for once. He wakes up the slumbering laptop in front of him and launches Twitter to get a quick look. Emmanuel saw what he was doing and gives him two minutes to get an update on the situation. 

“I see…” finally reacts the Canadian “Not that you can really do anything at that point.” 

“But my ski trip was a blatant mistake.”

“How could you have known, love ?” says Justin “And you did enjoy yourself for a couple of days.”

“I did.” 

“And you look so great in ski clothes.” grins the Canadian. 

He manages to make his boyfriend smile for a split second and that’s already a win. But Emmanuel really looks miserable today, and Justin doesn’t like that. The social protests in France have been Emmanuel’s main concern for the past couple of months, and it seems to be an unsolvable issue. They spent hours and hours, late at night speaking about this, but Emmanuel is still not out of this mess. 

“They are going to hate me even more, you know.” explains the French “I was skiing while they were out in the streets of Paris. Two completely different worlds.”

“You don’t have to apologize for living your life, Emmanuel. You should never have to.” 

“But they still see me as the privileged, wealthy, handsome young man living a dream-life, far away from the problems of the world. This is not who I am, and I want to break this image, you know that. But that ski trip… I mean… A lot of people go skiing during their vacation, why is that a problem ?” 

Justin sighs and tries to formulate his response in the less hurtful way possible. 

“Look, Emmanuel. You know how much I love you and that I’ll support you no matter what, but we are talking about people who can’t afford to put food on their table at the end of the month. And you are talking about vacation. So yes, sure, some people do go skiing during the holidays. When they can afford to go on holidays.” 

The President bites his lip. His boyfriend is right. Maybe he doesn’t live in the same planet than those people who are protesting in the streets. 

“Should I apologize for making my way to success ?” he asks.

“No !” exclaims Justin shaking his head “Of course not ! That’s not what I said ! God, Emmanuel, did you even listen to what I said ?” 

Justin grabs the bottle of water on his desk and takes a long sip before adding : 

“Manu’, love ? Look at me, please.” 

His boyfriend lifts up his gaze, and his beautiful blue eyes meet the one of his partner. 

“You are a good President, you are an excellent leader, and you will find solutions. That trip to the ski resort of your childhood was a nice surprise that your wife planned for you. Try to keep that in mind. Brigitte really wanted you to grab a couple of days to rest. And what happened in the streets of Paris, on the Champs-Elysées today is unbelievable and unbearable to watch.” 

“I agree, and they can not win this. This is not how it works in a democracy…”

“This !” exclaims Justin with a broad grin “This is the Emmanuel I fell for. You sound much more like yourself.” 

This time, Emmanuel smiles more frankly and he adds : 

“I need to work on a declaration. Condemn violences of course. But say I understand how miserable people can feel, because I do. I truly do. And I’m going to work on what we can do to help them…” 

“You are in a far better spirit than when you picked up the call, love, and I prefer that.” says Justin “Do you mind if I finish eating while we speak ?” 

“Please, go ahead.” 

Justin chuckles and tries to finish his plate while they continue chatting. 

“What about the violence ?” asks Trudeau “What are you going to do about it ?”

“There is nothing I can do really. We are monitoring all of this very closely, trust me. But violence only comes from a minority. It is loud, very graphic, and what people keep in mind, but this is not the heart of the contestation.” 

“I know. But here in Canada, that’s all we are seeing.” 

To give more depth to what he is saying, Justin turns his laptop screen towards his phone so that Emmanuel can see the newsfeed at the tame time as he is. And the pictures of the violent riots are all over the place. 

“Wait.” calls Emmanuel “Come back to that one.” 

“Which one ?” asks Justin chewing on his last bite of pasta and placing his bottle of water back on his desk.

“The one with the burning…”

“Manu’... Everything is on fire on those pictures.” 

“That one. In the center.” says Emmanuel “Can you enlarge the picture ? Please ?”

Justin frowns to see his boyfriend acing that erratic but he does what asked. And he notices Emmanuel’s face go white. 

“That’s the Fouquet’s.” explains the President “It’s a restaurant. A very famous one, extremely trendy, one in which Nicolas Sarkozy celebrated his victory when he won the presidential race in 2007.” 

“But you didn’t ?”

“No. I choose something less flashy, more… down-to-earth. Chic but intimate and friendly.” 

“But you think they were trying to say something by setting fire to this restaurant ?” questions the Canadian closing the picture.

“Definitely. It’s them against us. The poor, the masses, against the riches, the elite. That’s how they see the world. And I will be honest with you, honey : it scares me. French people did a Revolution once, and it did not end well for the people in power.”

“Don’t you think you are overreacting a bit ?” laughs Justin piling up his dishes to bring them back down to the restaurant of the Parliament “I mean… Didn’t you stop executing people fifty years ago ?” 

“I receive death threats everyday, Justin. I insisted on Brigitte staying in La Mongie for a couple more days so she could be safe and far from the public eye. I don’t feel as safe as I used to be. I know it’ll pass and things will come back to normal, but right now, this is a bit of a hectic world.” 

“And we’ll manage to navigate through it.” 

They look at each other and smile. They’d give all the gold in the world to have the chance to be together for only five minutes. Some days are harder than the others, and today is one of those days. Emmanuel really would like a hug and a kiss from his boyfriend right now. To feel better. 

“Do you mind if I take you with me while I get back downstairs ?” asks Justin “I really have to bring back the dirty plate, before the end of service. I have a tendency to forget, and I’m getting blamed for it.” 

“I’m sorry I ruined your lunch break, honey.” apologizes Emmanuel.

“You ruined nothing. I can’t think of a better way to spend my lunch break than speaking with you. And trust me, I’d love to be with you in that car just now.” 

Justin gets up and gathers the things he needs to bring back downstairs in the restaurant. He then grabs his phone, plugs his headphones in to keep talking with Emmanuel and heads downstairs. He smiles and nods at the people he passes by, but his main focus keeps his boyfriend. 

“Are you feeling better about what you need to say and do ?” he asks. 

“Of course.” says Macron “Thanks for helping. You know it always help to talk to you.” 

“I know.” smirks the Canadian PM “That’s why you are always calling me for help.” 

“Don’t say that too loud, someone might hear.” laughs Emmanuel. 

“And ? What would be the problem ?”

Justin pauses for a second to keep watch of his steps and he pushes the door of the Parliament restaurant with his shoulder. A few people turn to him, surprised to see him talking on video with someone, but he waves at them, and drops his dirty plate where it is supposed to be. 

“That looks huge.” says Emmanuel getting a glimpse at the room in which his partner is standing.

“It is.” answers Justin tilting his phone to give him a better look “And I have known that room since childhood. My father took me here for lunches quite often when I was a young boy, and he always treated me as an equal when we were in here.” 

They laugh together and Emmanuel feels much better thanks to him. Justin always helps him lighten his mood, no matter what horrendous things happened in his day. Justin is on his way back to his office, and he asks : 

“How long until you’re in Paris ?”

“About twenty minutes.” answers the French President looking at his watch “I’m hitting the shower as soon as I arrive, and then straight back to work.” 

“Don’t forget to jump into some clothes first.” jokes the Canadian. 

“Hey !” reacts Emmanuel “Are you even allowed to say such things in Parliament ?”

“There’s no one around, don’t worry. But it’s my usual sense of humour, so I am not sure anyone would mind.” 

Emmanuel pouts, not convinced. But his boyfriend is playful and when he is back into his office, the door closed behind him he says : 

“What are you going to wear ?” 

“I’m in the mood for a tracksuit and a hoodie, to be honest. But if I have people to receive, this would not be appropriate. So I’ll have a shirt, and jeans probably.” 

Justin sighs when he hears knocks on his door. 

“Two minutes !” he shouts to his visitor who he knows to be one of his closest assistant “I’m sorry, Manu’, I have to go.” 

“I understand, don’t worry. Can I call you back later in the evening, maybe ?”

“Of course. You’ll let me know how you feel, okay ?”

“Good. Works for me. I love you, Justin. Thanks again for helping.”

“You’re welcome, have a nice afternoon.” 

The Canadian winks at his boyfriend and hangs up. He pockets his phone and opens the door for his assistant to enter. 

The French President, in his car, nearly back to his residence, takes some time to send an email to his Prime Minister, and his Minister of the Interior, to ask them for updates of what happened during the day. He then sends a quick text to his wife to thank her again for the days they spent in the mountains, and the surprise she prepared for him. It was a touching gesture, and he should not blame her for that. He is really lucky to have both Brigitte and Justin in his life, to help him stay anchored in reality. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it was a short chapter, but there can't be a lot of stuff happening all the time ;) 
> 
> What did you think of it ? Emmanuel being lost and confused ? Him turning to his boyfriend for help ? Justin helping him as best as he can but staying honest and true with him ? J doing his best to make E smile ? The jokes between them ? J keeping Emmanuel on the line while he wanders around in the Parliament ? Emmanuel going much better at the end of the chapter ? Them missing each other and wishing they could be together ? Em' realizing how lucky he is to have both Brigitte and Justin in his life ? 
> 
> Next chapter will be a bit longer, but dramatic as fuck once again. 2019 was a horrendous year, I'm afraid. Any idea of what might be the next event I'll be talking about ?!


	19. April 15th 2019 - Ottawa, Canada - Into ashes and smoke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.  
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 19 : Les cloches (Notre-Dame de Paris) / Il est venu le temps des cathédrales (Notre-Dame de Paris)
> 
> \---- 
> 
> Disclaimer about this chapter : I talk about a topic that might be sensitive to some readers in this chapter, but I know that it is important in both Emmanuel and Justin's lives. If it's not your cup of tea, please, don't hate me for it, cuter and steamier chapters are coming !

“Back home. Quickly, please.” says the Canadian PM to his chauffeur climbing into his car. 

He has barely closed the door that the vehicle is already on the move. Justin draws his mobile out of his jacket pocket and checks the time. It’s nearly five, which means past ten in the night in France. And Emmanuel has not answered the two messages he sent him. Of course he must be extremely busy with what is going on, but usually he still takes a minute to let his boyfriend know that he is okay. Justin kept his phone on standby all afternoon in Parliament, watching the utterly distressing images of Notre-Dame cathedral on fire. He immediately sent a text to his lover, as soon as he could take a five minutes break and he re-reads it, to make sure he did not say something that might have offended his boyfriend. 

**_I am seeing what is happening. I am sitting in Parliament this afternoon, but let me know if you need to talk, we’ll find a way. I know you’ll be overly busy, I’m sending you strength, and I’ll call you later._ ** **_  
_ ** **_Love you._ **

But Emmanuel didn’t answer. This was three hours ago, and it starts to worry Justin a tiny bit. An hour and a half later, Justin added a second text message. 

**_How are you feeling, love ?_ **

But no answer either. He bursts out of the car as soon as he arrives home and runs up the stairs. Inside, he finds Sophie on the couch, in front of the TV, watching the news about the fire, with their three children curled up next to her, mesmerized by the pictures of the burning monument. He drops his keys, wallet and phone on the table and gets rid of his coat. He kisses each of his kid on the forehead and Sophie on the lips. She caresses his cheek for a moment, because she feels how uneasy he is, and he eventually sits next to her, his hand reaching for hers. 

“How long have you been watching ?” he asks. 

“About an hour.” she answers “When the children came back from school actually. Did you get Emmanuel on the line ?”

“No. I couldn’t reach him. At all.” 

“He’s probably busy.” she says “Don’t worry. He’ll call you later.” 

“Those images are terrible.” he says “You know how much I am attached to World heritage. And religious buildings. And Notre-Dame…” 

The news Channel switches from a live feed to a recap of the most striking images of the evening in France and this time it becomes too much for the Canadian PM. 

“Sorry.” he apologizes “I need fresh air.” 

He grabs his phone on the way out and goes out for a walk in the garden behind the property. He needs to clear his thoughts. It worries him too much that Emmanuel isn’t answering him, and even if he doesn’t want to disturb him in what is certainly one of the busiest evening of the whole year for him, he is really close to just call him to have an explanation. Is he okay ? Is he crying in his office watching the beautiful cathedral burning into ashes ? He needs to know… Justin is nervously fidgeting and he puts his phone back into his pocket before doing something irrational. Emmanuel has more important things to do than answering him, that’s all. He’ll call in due time. Justin got the chance to visit Notre-Dame cathedral a long time ago during a trip to France and he keeps great memories of it. As a Christian, a man of faith, it really was something he valued, and he spent hours inside, sightseeing and praying. 

“JUSTIN !” calls Sophie from the threshold of the bay-window. 

“Hmm ?” he answers. 

“Come back inside !” she says “He’s going to talk !” 

“Who ?”

She blinks at him several time before answering, startled that he hasn’t guessed that himself. 

“Emmanuel, of course. He’s going there. Come back inside, please.” 

“I’m coming.”

Justin joins her inside, and he sits with his family, taking Hadrien on his knees, Ella-Grace leaning on his shoulder, Xavier half-asleep on his mother’s lap. 

“Is it going to collapse ?” asks the young girl to her father, her eyes still focused on the TV. 

“I don’t think so.” answers Justin trying to read the news feed on the bottom of screen “They say it shouldn’t, but you never know. It’s not hundred percent sure.” 

“Why is it burning ?” asks Hadrien. 

“We don’t know.” replies his father “There will be an investigation to try and see if someone can find out what happened.” 

“Did someone tried to burn the cathedral ?” questions the little boy.

“I doubt so.” says his mother “But that’s one possibility. At this point, we don’t know. Nobody does.” 

“Why are there so many people in the streets ?” asks Ella-grace pointing at the screen which changed to show the masses of Parisians who spontaneously assembled to pray for their cathedral.

“They gathered to see what happens.” explains her father “And to pray. Because when terrible events unfold, people always find strength in unity. Look at us, we’re all together on the couch, when we could easily be doing each our own stuffs. But we felt like being together and…” 

He stopped because Emmanuel appeared on their screen. All three children recognized him and understood that their parents would like to listen to what he has to say. The French President does not speak for long, thanking the first responders who bravely saved the Cathedral from the raging fire, and who preserved its treasures. He highlights the cultural importance of this cathedral for the French people, and that it will get rebuilt, no matter what. His speech lasts for less than five minute, and Justin really struggles to not smile like an idiot to simply see his boyfriend on TV. Emmanuel looks tired, and emotional, but at least he’s there. 

“Subscription ?” frowns Ella-Grace who understood most of what the French President said but not all of it.

“A way for people to give money to participate in rebuilding the cathedral.” explains Sophie.

“Oh.” says the girl “Will we participate ?”

“Do you want to ?” asks Justin. 

“I don’t know. Maybe ?” she says. 

“We’ll see then. And I’ll make sure Canada, as a country, participates as well.” 

He kisses his daughter on the forehead. Ella always had a big heart, she got that from her mother and he finds it adorable. 

“Pizza night ?” suggests Sophie.

“YEEEES !” screams Hadrien so loud that he scares his sister.

“Sure !” nods Justin. 

“Yes ! I love you Mom !” adds Xavier woken up by his brother screaming 

“Okay.” says Sophie “Then come with me to the kitchen, to choose the pizza you want to eat.” 

The three children run to the kitchen, but she stops to ask her husband : 

“Are you eating with us ?” 

“I think so, yes. But then, I’d like to try and have Emmanuel over the phone, if he’s not too tired to speak.” 

“I get that.” 

She leans over him and they exchange a sweet, tender kiss and it helps Justin feel better. Less than an hour later, he is nearly done with his pizza when Emmanuel finally calls him. 

“Sorry.” he says to his family “I’m taking that one.” 

He rushes to his office and closes the door, answering the call with his free hand, shoving the rest of his pizza slice in his mouth with the other. 

“Good evening.” he manages to say taking his seat and finishing eating “Sorry, ‘was finishing dinner.” he explains “Are you back to the Palace ?”

“Hmm.” nods Emmanuel. 

The French President is in his office. The lighting is dim, and Justin frowns. He can only see the outline of his boyfriend’s silhouette, and not clearly his face. Which immediately sends him back to his worries. 

“How are you feeling ?” asks Justin.

“I… Tonight was…” stutters Emmanuel.

The French president sighs and buries his face into his hands, leaning forward, finally emerging into the light. A strange silence settles and Justin shifts on his seat, ready to say something when he notices the shoulders of his boyfriend irregularly moving. Emmanuel is crying. Loud, uncontrollable sobs are rocking his whole body, and he lets go of all the emotions he bottled up during the whole evening. He refused to let go of a single tear during the drama, but right now, in front of Justin, he lets go of all of it. The Canadian feels distraught and really puzzled. He wasn’t expecting that reaction. He never saw Emmanuel cry before, and he doesn’t know how to react. He usually know how to deal with his boyfriend’s anger, or temporary discouragement, but the complete distress Emmanuel seems to be feeling right now is throwing him off-balance. The French president keeps crying, in the darkness of his office, thousands of kilometers away from the arms of his boyfriend, who would like to help, but has no idea how. Justin gets up and paces through his office. He can’t bear watching at Emmanuel crying anymore. This is distressing for him too and he feels bad to not being able to provide any kind of help. He stops in front of his bookshelf and his eyes stops on the pocket Bible he has amongst the other books. It seems oddly appropriate for a night like the one they are living. He pulls it out and sits by the window, the Bible open on his knees. His boyfriend is still crying, and Justin closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. He opens his eyes back and reads a few verses at random, and starts praying. 

In France, Emmanuel manages to calm down after a while, having no more tears to cry. He feels empty and exhausted. He wipes his eyes and frowns to not have heard Justin in quite a long time. Maybe he scared him off. But Justin is still there. Sitting further away than usual from his desk, the Canadian has his eyes closed, and his hand laying open on his knees, a small book open between them. It takes him nearly ten seconds to understand what Justin is doing for that he has never seen him do such a thing. But he keeps quiet and waits until his boyfriend turns his head towards him. 

“You were praying ?” asks Emmanuel. 

“I did the only thing that felt right.” brushes off Justin closing the Bible and setting it away “I hope you don’t mind.” 

“I don’t. I’m sorry if I startled you, and I’m sure I did.” 

“I felt powerless, to not be able to help you, love.” answers Justin “I never saw you cry before, and it took me by surprise. But considering the night you had, I get it.” 

“I feel better now. I really bottled up all my emotions up until I had you on the line. You are the only one I could truly let myself go with…” 

Justin smiles at him. This is a beautiful proof of love. With each other, they allow themselves to be vulnerable, to not be as perfect as they try to appear in public. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t answer your texts, but if I texted you, that would have broke the shell I was trying to build.” explains the French President.

“You got me worried.” 

“Did I ? Really ?” says Emmanuel.

“Of course. Seeing Notre-Dame burn, and not knowing how you were coping with it was killing me. And to be honest, even Sophie wondered how you were doing with the whole situation.” 

“She’s a precious woman.” chuckles his lover “How do you feel about seeing the cathedral going into ashes ?”

“I felt sick all afternoon. Thankfully I was in Parliament, and only saw pictures on Twitter, and not a whole live feed on a news channel. But that spire collapsing inside the building, that broke my heart…” 

“I watched that live, with half my Government and a room full of officials. I never saw a room fall so silent at once. I saw my Prime Minister wipe off a few tears. This was an insane night, Justin, and I’m still hoping I am somehow in a nightmare, and that I will wake up and none of this will have happened.” 

“I’m afraid this is not the case.” answers Justin. 

“I know.”

“Do you want us to speak about the fire ? Or do you want us to speak about something else ?”

“I’m fine with both, I really feel better, and you know that you and I can talk about really anything.”

“I know. Ella-Grace wants to participate in the rebuilding of the cathedral, she picked up the ‘subscription’ word from your little speech.” laughs the Canadian. 

“Your daughter is adorable.”

“I told her we’ll look into that. But you can count on Canada to pitch in. I’ll sign a huge check as soon as possible.” 

They both laugh and the French President says : 

“You don’t have to, Justin. But thanks. And please, tell your little girl to not break her piggy bank for us.” 

“She won’t. What about the treasures of the Cathedral, are they safe ?” 

“Thank God, they are. Someone was brave enough to think about breaking in and just run and grab them and save everything they could while the flames were raging upstairs under the roof.”

“Thank God indeed.” 

Both of them chuckle for that pun and Emmanuel asks : 

“Praying often in your office ?”

“Very rarely, but tonight it felt like the most useful thing to do. Especially since I couldn’t be with you. Physically I mean. I really wanted to hold you in my arms, so you could cry on my shoulders, and know that tomorrow would be better. Instead of that, I turned to the only person that could make you feel like that…” 

“God ?” 

They never so openly talked about their faith, and Justin hesitates to frankly nod. 

“Are you even allowed to talk about religion at your desk ?” he says to his boyfriend. 

“No one will ever hear about that.” smiles Emmanuel.

“Then yes, when I face challenges, I turn to religion, to look for some help, guidance, or sometimes answers… Actually, and it’s funny… When I met you. The very first time I met you, we both fell for each other, I couldn’t get you out of my head, I found my way to a small chapel, and stopped for a minute to pray.” 

“Did it help ?”

“To get you out of my head ? Not really. To focus on the work I had to achieve ? Definitely.” 

Emmanuel smirks and says : 

“You know that I can’t speak about my faith in public, we discussed that already.” 

“Yeah. Silly law of yours.” 

“It’s… different.” admits Emmanuel “But I am still a man of faith. And praying helps sometimes. And that is the first thing I did when I got reports of a fire in the cathedral.”

“There was a time of my life, and you can pretty well imagine which one, where I somehow lost my faith, but I came back to it. And I am glad I did.” 

“How did you came back to it ? That’s a story I’d like to hear…” 

“Ever heard of alpha course ?” answers Justin. 

“Yep.” replies his lover.

“A friend suggested I came with him to one. It sort of pointed me in the right direction. And it got me back on this faith I lost, before my father’s death actually.” 

“I stumbled on the internet across your father’s eulogy the other day, by the way.” indicates the French “I wanted to tell you but didn’t know how to bring that up.” 

“You watched it ?” questions his lover with a little bit of emotion in the voice. 

“From the first to the last second, Justin. You did a great job. And you were so young…” 

“I wasn’t that young.” 

Justin pauses for a second and bites his lip to repress the tears that he feels coming up his throat. Now is not the time. 

“Justin, please don’t cry.” says Emmanuel with a soft, soothing voice “I just needed you to know that I saw that video. I don’t want you to cry, and I certainly didn’t want to bring back bad memories to the surface.” 

“It’s fine. I’m a bit over sensitive tonight. That eulogy I did for my father, the radio got asked to broadcast it again several times in the weeks after my father funeral. That is when I did really become a public personality in the heart of Canadians.” 

“What a shame it had to take such a drama for you to shine.”

“Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light.” quotes Justin enigmatically 

“Who said that ?” frowns Emmanuel not quite able to pinpoint the author. 

“Dumbledore.” 

“Oh. Right !” exclaims the French President laughing “A wise man indeed.” 

They laugh and Justin checks the hour on his watch. It’s getting really really late in France, and maybe Emmanuel should go grab some rest, he’ll need some in the days to come. But he doesn’t seem tired at all. 

“What about the speech you were supposed to give ?” asks the Canadian. 

“Postponed.” answers his boyfriend “Although I doubt I will get the chance to give it. And most of the journalists must have seen it by now. So it’s sort of ruined, anyway.” 

“Was it great ?”

“Barely.” shrugs Macron with a smirk “I did not had time to properly polish it.” 

“Then consider that it was a sign from God that you did not had to give that speech.” 

“I’d rather have given that speech than have seen the cathedral burn, but I’ll try to lift up my spirit with that.” laughs Emmanuel “Thanks, Justin.” 

“Yeah, you know it’s not what I meant.” 

“I know. What about your trip to my beautiful country next month, has this been arranged yet ?”

“My calendar is set, I’m still reviewing the details on how many days I can stay, and subsequently how many hours I can spend with you, love. But I’ll let you know, as soon as possible.” 

“I’ll be delighted to have you home.” smiles Emmanuel.

“And it’s for a great cause.” replies the Canadian “What happened in New-Zealand is horrific and should never have been broadcasted live on social media.” 

“I know, that’s why Jacinda asked our cooperation on that point.” says Emmanuel “And that’s why I told her I’d be happy to host that negotiation with her.” 

“You’re too kind of a man.” smiles Justin “And given the hour, and the night you had, you should head to bed, Emmanuel.”

“You’re probably right. For once, I need sleep.” 

“You are getting more and more reasonable, love. I like that.” 

Emmanuel sticks his tongue out at his boyfriend and they say goodbye to each other. Tonight has been a really exhausting evening for both of them, and tomorrow will certainly be a better day. It can’t be worse anyway. And in a month, they will see each other. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did you think about this chapter ? 
> 
> Justin's distress about not hearing from how Emmanuel was coping ? Sophie's reaction ? The Trudeau's children ? Emmanuel breaking down in tears in front of his boyfriend ? Justin being so lost that he doesn't know what to do ? Him praying ? Their discussion about the fire ? About religion ? Them missing each other ? The perspective of seeing each other the next month (despite the circumstances) ? 
> 
> The next one will be longer, I swear ;p


	20. May 16th 2019 - Paris, France - The “lunch”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a special something that goes with this chapter and it's a video. it takes place directly AFTER the chapter, but you can watch it before reading it, or after, as you wish. 
> 
> Please pay attention to all the little non-verbal clues the video is filled with (Emmanuel fidgeting with his microhpone, checking that his belt is buckled correctly, looking at Justin as if it was the 8th World wonder and licking his lips at the same time, all the touching each other, Justin constantly checking out Emmanuel and smiling at him, nervously fidgeting etc...). And for those of you who are lucky enough to understand French well..... There are a few words that seem quite out of place ^^ 
> 
> Here's the link (I couldn't find a proper way to integrate it so please do a copy/paste) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4GKD1L_uGg&t=13s&pbjreload=101

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.
> 
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 20 : Senorita - Shawn Mendes 

Emmanuel is pacing through his office, unable to patient any longer. His week has been exhausted, but Justin his due to arrive for a bilateral interview in twenty minutes and the French President is nervously fidgeting. They haven’t been each other privately in six months, and they can’t wait to finally meet behind closed doors. Justin has sent him dirty texts last night, and it built up the sexual tension between them. Emmanuel stops in front of the window, ruffles his hair, then rearranges them for the tenth time in the last hour and he checks his wristwatch. Eighteen minutes. He can hear his heart pounding in his chest and he takes a deep breath to try and calm his nerves. Of course they have seen each other yesterday, but amongst other world leaders, and tech CEOs, it wasn’t the same. The Christchurch appeal initiative went far better than expected but they did not get the chance to speak privately, not even for five minutes. Emmanuel glances at his watch. Fifteen minutes. Nemo comes running through his legs, looking for cuddles, and maybe some treats. 

“You really are a begger, you know that, don’t you ?” laughs the President going into his desk to look for his dog’s treats. 

He gives the dog only one, and he pets him for a moment, still trying to calm his nerves. When Nemo toddles off he checks the time again. Seven minutes. He closes his eyes and he pictures his boyfriend. Justin’s light eyes, his huge smile, his powerful hands… No, Emmanuel. Don’t go there. Not just yet. He opens the door of his office and draws the stool in front of the piano. He sits and plays a classical tune, one to ease his mind and keep his brain from overthinking the meeting to come. Once he’s done, he gets out, to wait for Justin. Emmanuel looks at the press on his right, down the stairs, and the two microphones waiting for them. This will be agonizing to talk to the journalists, when all they want is to lock themselves and reunite. Justin’s car enter in the courtyard and Emmanuel can’t help but grin. His lover is here. And they will have the whole Palace to themselves as Brigitte is out for the day. 

Justin takes a few deep breaths. his hands are slightly shaking and he feels nervous. His whole body is aching to pin Emmanuel against a wall and fuck him like there is no tomorrow. But in public, they have to behave, and not let anyone to believe there might be anything more than a strong friendship between them. He opens the door of the car and gets out. Emmanuel couldn’t wait any longer and he ran down the steps of the Elysée, a smile illuminating his face. He’s beautiful, and Justin’s heart skips a beat when he sees him. Emmanuel doesn’t even extend his hand for a handshake, but he pulls him into a hug and they both chuckle. Justin hugs him tighter and he whispers into his ear : 

“I missed that.” 

The French President chuckles and they reluctantly break their embrace. Justin nonetheless keeps a hand on Emmanuel’s shoulder, and the French’s hand lingers for far longer than necessary on Justin’s cheek. The Canadian clears his throat and says : 

“This is always a pleasure to be here, to be honest.” 

“And a delight to host you, Justin. Do you mind talking to the press now ?”

“I’d rather keep that for later, if you don’t mind.” smirks his boyfriend. 

“Fine for me.” 

They go up the stairs. Pose for the photographs as they shake hands for a minute and enter inside the building. 

“I thought that we could discuss elsewhere than my office for once.” says Emmanuel. 

“And what would be that elsewhere ?”

“Somewhere comfier.” brushes off the French President. 

He brings his friend to a room smaller than his office with two couches facing each other. It’s a room that is rarely used, but he had wandered into it earlier in the week and figured it’d be a perfect place to reunite with his boyfriend. Especially since it’s quite isolated, and there is no window. Emmanuel demanded his security officers stayed way further into the Palace, so they are truly alone. The French President closes the door behind them, and for extra safety he turns the lock. He shivers when the hand of his lover finds its way on his right hip. 

“I missed you, love.” says Justin with a low, sexy voice. 

“I missed you too” answers Emmanuel turning around and wrapping his arms around the neck of his lover. 

They look at each other for a long while before kissing, simply enjoying the fact of being together. Eyes in eyes, they can finally express all the love they have for each other, and when their lips touch, it’s like an explosion. Six months of holding back, of not being able to touch the other, that are no longer repressed… Justin pins Emmanuel against the door, and one of his hand is on the back of his head, pressing the French’s deeper against his mouth, the other one already looking to untug the shirt from the trousers of Emmanuel’s suit. Both of Emmanuel’s hands found their way to the messy hair of his boyfriend and for once, Justin doesn’t care. They stop kissing to catch their breath and both of them chuckle at the same time. 

“I missed that as well.” whines the Canadian. 

“Oh yes. It feels so good. But let’s not rush things, okay ?” 

Emmanuel uses all his willpower to pull away from Justin and he removes his suit jacket. The Canadian does the same, and their ties take the same path. They drape them over the back of one of the sofa, and they sit down on the opposite one, next to each other, Justin’s hand on Emmanuel’s thigh, Emmanuel’s hand on Justin’s cheek. The French lets his thumb stroke gently the soft skin of his lover. He smiles and Justin questions : 

“Why are you smiling ?” 

“Because I can touch you.” laughs Emmanuel “You can’t imagine how eager I was to do this. Yesterday was agonizing for me.” 

“Oh because you think it was any simpler for me ?” jokes his boyfriend “I felt the urge to pin you against every single wall and door of this building all day. And you can’t imagine the level of self-control I had to had, yesterday evening in my hotel room, not to jerk myself off to sleep…” 

Emmanuel laughs and kisses his partner on the mouth, biting gently on the lower lip of the Canadian. 

“You’re mine.” he whispers. 

“All yours.” answers Justin surprising Emmanuel and making him fall on his back on the sofa “But right now, I really want to get you off that shirt.” 

Justin tries to unbutton Emmanuel’s shirt, but his fingers are shaking, from excitement, and Emmanuel has to help him. They are giggling and the French ends up with a wide open shirt, and a boyfriend kissing him between the pectoral muscles, making his whole body shiver and react in anticipation. 

“Oh God !” lets escape the French tugging on his boyfriend’s hair. 

“Still not my name,” chuckles Justin “but I understand the confusion…” 

“You… utter…”

Justin stops kissing his partner and arches an eyebrow, waiting for the insult his boyfriend was going to aim at him, but Emmanuel doesn’t seem to be able to formulate anything coherent. 

“Prick ? Cunt ? Idiot ? Bastard ?” suggests the Canadian getting up on his knees to open his own shirt and remove it “Cock ? Cretin ? Imbecile ? Fool ?” 

It makes Emmanuel burst into laughter, and this is the purest sound in the world. A genuine, untamed laughter. Now shirtless, the PM leans on his boyfriend and kisses him just below the ear. 

“I don’t mind you insulting me. But I prefer when you call me honey.” 

“Right.” manages to answer Emmanuel wiping away the tears of hilarity from the corner of his eyes “Honey.” he adds with a softer, more sensual tone.

That word awoke lust in his partner, and Justin inserts his knee between the legs of his boyfriend to make him understand. 

“And you are impatient.” states the President with a smirk “As usual.” 

“Aren’t you ?” 

“Very much.” 

They kiss each other with passion and Emmanuel’s hand reach for Justin’s belt buckle. As he struggles to open it, Justin has to lend a hand, and the French exclaims : 

“You really have two options when you come to have sex with me : either you buy a belt that is fucking easy to open, or you don’t weary any damn belt !” 

“Sorry, I’ll think about it.” 

“You’d better.” grumbles Emmanuel removing the said belt and dropping it on the floor “It’s going to be a deal-breaker between us.” 

“A deal breaker ? Really ?” 

Justin rolls his eyes and Emmanuel takes advantage of his inattention to kiss him in the neck, and just behind the ear, on his soft spot. 

“Hmmm” moans Justin indecently in his ear “Do that again.”

Emmanuel kisses him there once more and Justin’s body arches, pressing their intimacies together, making them realize how big and hard they both are in their pants. Reluctantly Justin pulls himself away from the embrace of his boyfriend and sits down on the edge of the sofa, removing his shoes and socks, and trousers. Emmanuel stayed on his back, admiring the half striptease of his lover, too mesmerized to even move. Justin’s body is absolutely perfect in every way, and seeing him in his red boxers, his erection unmissable is a delight for the eyes. 

“You are staring, Manu’...” smiles Justin 

“I know. Do you mind ?”

“Not really. But you are still wearing clothes when I’m nearly wearing none. This isn’t really fair, don’t you think ?” 

“Then strip me down.” 

The French President crosses his arms behind his head and Justin kneels down at the other end of the sofa. He takes Emmanuel’s leg on his knee, and starts unlacing his shoe, he removes it and throws it away. He tugs on Emmanuel’s silken, boring plain black sock and sends it flying across the room. 

“Remind me to buy you patterned socks.” he says to his lover. 

“Never with a dark blue suit.” 

“You are insufferable. But I love you…” 

He blushes slightly and takes care of the second shoe of his boyfriend. He removes the other sock, and leans forward to steal a kiss from Emmanuel’s lips. 

“I love you too.” murmurs the French. 

Justin kisses his way back down on his partner’s body. And the touch-starved French President reacts to even the slightest brush of Justin’s lips against his skin. When the Canadian arrives at the waistline, he uses one hand to unbuckle the belt, and Emmanuel chuckles : 

“You see, mine’s so easy that even with a blindfold you could open it.” 

“Are you trying to express a fantasy of yours ?”

“Not really. Just saying your stupid belt is a pain in the ass.” 

“Okay. Okay.” 

Justin lifts his hands as a gesture of reddition. He admits he is not wearing the easiest one to open. He removes the President’s belt and drops it on the floor next to his. He then grabs the waistband of Emmanuel trousers and pulls it down. 

“Move your hips. Please.” he asks his boyfriend for help.

Emmanuel elevate his hips just a tiny bit so Justin can remove his trousers and the piece of clothes ends up on the floor with the rest of what they were wearing. The large and powerful hand of the Canadian comes caress the large erection of his boyfriend through the fabric of his trunks. They are light grey, with a complicated pattern and it makes the PM smirk. 

“I thought pattern and dark blue suits weren’t a good match ?” 

“I am going to kill you, Justin.” 

The Canadian laughs and extends his hand to help his boyfriend sit down in front of him. They are both in their underwear, and very much aware of the massive erections they have, but trying not to rush things. After six month without the other, they want to enjoy this moment as much as possible. 

“How long since you last emptied yourself, Prime Minister Trudeau ?” teases Emmanuel letting the tip of his fingers play with the waistband of his partner’s underwear. 

“Two weeks.” smiles the playful Canadian planting a kiss on the jawline of his partner “You ?”

“Ten days…”

“An eternity.” jokes Justin “Given your face.”

They exchange a tender kiss, and Justin teases his boyfriend even more : 

“I guess you did not think about stashing some lube in there ?” 

“Actually…” reacts the playful French “There’s a tube, just right… there.” 

He extirpates a tube of lube from between the cushions of the sofa on which they are seated. He chuckles and kisses Justin on the lips. 

“How long until someone enquires if we need anything ?” 

“Hours.” replies Emmanuel “We can have sex and discuss the fate of the world together for hours…” 

“I’m not certain I can last that long.” 

“Let’s see about that.” 

“I’m guessing the lube will be for you ?”

“If you don’t mind.” grins the French “Which means you’ll get to ride me.” 

“Ride you ? That’s a wild idea, Mister President.”

“But you like it, don’t you ?” 

Justin doesn’t have to answer. The red on his cheeks is answer enough for Emmanuel. The French sits comfortably on the sofa, and get Justin to take place on his lap, with one leg one each side of his own. The Canadian kisses him with passion, one of his hand resting on Emmanuel’s chest, the other one violently grabbing the hair on the back of his head, pulling him closer to intensify their kiss. A loud moan comes from deep down his throat and it dies on his lips, making his boyfriend giggle. 

“It is adorable when you laugh like that.” points out the Canadian “And it makes your heart beat faster…”

They smile and Justin keeps his hand on Emmanuel’s chest, and his lips travel on Emmanuel’s throat. The French tilts his head backwards to free access and the Canadian travels down, planting kisses on the tender skin of his partner. Emmanuel plants his fingers in his shoulder and Justin groans, if the French scratches his skin they are both going to be in trouble. With his free hand Emmanuel looks for the cock of his partner, still trapped in the fabric of its underwear. He caresses it, teasing his boyfriend until Justin begs him to stop. 

“Enough.” grunts the impatient Canadian “Or that will be messy. And we won’t be able to enjoy for as long as you planned.” 

“Fine.” sighs the President “But I want to have you naked.” 

“That can be done.” chuckles Justin.

He gets up and turns around to tease his boyfriend a little. Very slowly, and in the most tantalizing way possible, he lowers his boxers, uncovering his ass. He can’t see his lover, but he knows Emmanuel, and he can pretty well picture him biting his lower lip with lust. 

“Stop biting your lip, love.” he says. 

“How do you know, I am… ?” starts the French realizing he is doing just that. 

“I know you, by heart, Mister Macron.” 

Justin turns on himself, stepping out of his underwear, and Emmanuel gets the full view of his glorious intimacy, erected only for him. He bites his lip once more, and stops as soon as he notices. 

“Oops.” he whispers “Looks like I can’t help myself…” 

The Prime Minister does not answer. Instead, he kneels in front of his lover and places his hands on Emmanuel’s knees. He spreads the legs of his boyfriend apart and leans forward to kiss his dick, through the silky fabric of his underwear. 

“Hmm, Justin…” moans Emmanuel passing his fingers throughs the hair of his boyfriend “I love that.” 

“I know. But you are enjoying yourself too much.” 

The Canadian takes the waistband of Emmanuel’s underwear in his teeth and he pulls them down. The French lifts up his hips to ease the process, and Justin keeps his gaze locked to the one of his partner during the whole process, until the underwear are down to Emmanuel’s ankles. The temperature rose from at least five degrees in the room by that action only, and when Justin climbs on his boyfriend again, their bodies are consumed from within by the desire they have for each other. Their penises are brushing against each other, hard, excited, looking for release, and their mouths found their natural way back to one another. One of Justin’s hand is on Emmanuel’s cheek, but the other one dived straight between their bodies, to seize the hard dick of his boyfriend. His warm fingers are trapping the flesh rod, and when he starts moving them from base to top, the French gasps in surprise. 

“It feels good.” he whispers “Please continue, honey.” 

He closed his eyes for a second, all to his sensations, but Justin groans and asks : 

“Look at me, please. I know you are not vocal, but I want to read that pleasure in your beautiful eyes…” 

Emmanuel open his eyes and locks them to the mesmerizing gaze of his lover. Justin keeps masturbating him, all too slowly, to make the pleasure rise inside of him. The Canadian takes both of their cocks in his hands, making them slide together in his palm, and this is too much for Emmanuel who sinks into pleasure and begs for it to stop. 

“Stop.” he murmurs hiding his face in the neck of his boyfriend “Please stop.” 

But the Canadian keeps going for a few more seconds. 

“Justin, please stop.” begs Emmanuel in his ear “Please.” 

“I love making you beg.” laughs his lover “It is a sweet sound. Give me the lube, I need to prepare your cock.” 

Emmanuel hands him the tube of lubricant, and the Canadian unscrews the lid. He gives it to his partner to hold and pours lube on his fingers, he expertly spreads it all along the penis of his partner, and this time, Emmanuel tilts his head backwards and parts his lips. This feels divine. Exquisite even. And it’ll take all of his goodwill to make their lovemaking last for more than five minutes. Justin kisses his jawline to make him come back to reality, and Emmanuel moans slightly. 

“Ready ?” questions the Canadian PM 

“I am dying for it.” 

“I need you to stay still, Emmanuel.” 

“I’ll do my best.” answers the French with a grin 

Justin elevates on his knees, his legs spread on each side of Emmanuel’s one. The French President is calmly touching his partner’s intimacy, while the Canadian positions himself above the erected rod that he lubed and prepared. This might hurt a bit, given that his hole has not been prepared, but he’ll manage. He sits on him, and when the tip of Emmanuel’s cock breaches through his hole, he moans loudly and wraps his arms around the neck of the French. He shed a few tears of pain, but they are soon replaced by a feeling of intense pleasure. He paused for a moment his insertion, too overwhelmed by the contradictory sensations rocking his body. Emmanuel wrapped his arm around his chest, holding him close and safe, and he whispers sweet and tender words in his ear. 

“It feels incredible to be inside of you, Justin. So incredible.” he says “How is it for you ? Are you good ? Is it painful ?”

“I’m okay.” groans Justin sitting further on him and impaling himself deeper on his boyfriend “I’m feeling so full.” 

Emmanuel is more than half inside inside of him, but Justin kisses him in the neck, and he involuntarily moves his hips, thrusting himself deeper in his partner. 

“OH GOD, EMMANUEL !” screams the Canadian “Oh, it feels good !” 

The French is tempted to move, but his lover places his palm on his chest to keep him from doing so. 

“Please, don’t.” he says softly “I want to be the one in charge. You wanted me to ride, let me ride…” 

“Fine for me.” 

Emmanuel kisses him on the lips, giving his assentiment for what is to come. Whatever Justin desires. The Canadian still has both arms around the neck of his partner and he undulates his hips slightly, both of them moaning in unisson. 

“OH GOD !” exclaims the Canadian 

The French keeps for himself the joke he was about to make, but Justin understood and smirks. They kiss softly, press their foreheads together and the Canadian keeps exploring this ocean of sensations for both of them. It feels incredible, and each move sends them on the edge of orgasm. Justin tries his best to not be too vocal, but his instincts are kicking in and he can’t help but moaning loudly in Emmanuel’s ear. 

“I am close.” informs Emmanuel “So close.” 

“Come in me.” moans Justin

“I wasn’t going to come any other way.” chuckles the French 

“Good then.” 

A passionate kiss seals that agreement, and Justin gets carried away, biting harder than he would have wanted to on the lower lip of the French President. 

“Ouch” reacts the man “Careful, honey.” 

“Sorry, love.” 

Emmanuel takes him by surprise and thrusts himself deeper inside of him, making the man shiver in his arms, and scream of pleasure at the same time. Justin tilts his head backwards and a guttural moan escapes his throat. 

“That was insane, Emmanuel. Do that again.” 

Emmanuel does the same movement again, but this time, he completely loses control of himself, and his orgasm takes him. His body arches, his grip tightens on Justin, and he ejaculates deep inside of him. A cry of pleasure dies on his lip, and he finally manages to open his eyes to see the happy, smiling face of his boyfriend. 

“You should see yourself,” jokes Justin “that face you made, when you orgasmed, it was…”

“Funny ?” suggests Emmanuel 

“Adorable.” corrects his lover “And a true face of ecstasy.” 

He grins and plants a kiss on the lips of his partner. 

“I need to take care of your pleasure, now.” says Emmanuel “And since we don’t have anything to get cleaned up…” 

“Tell me. I want to hear what you are going to do to me.” 

Justin is still on the cock of his partner, and while Emmanuel tells him, in the most erotic way possible, what he intends to do to him, he carefully withdraws. 

“I am going to suck you Justin. To suck you until you moan my name, or better : until you’re unable to moan my name anymore. And then, you are going to come inside me, in my mouth, in my throat, and I’m going to swallow everything…” 

“I like the sound of that, love.” replies Justin kissing him tenderly 

The Canadian is about to let himself down on the sofa next to his boyfriend but Emmanuel prevents him to do so and nearly has a heart attack when he sees him about to do such a thing. 

“No, no, no… Sorry.” 

Emmanuel blushes and buries his face into his hands. Startled by the unusual reaction, Justin frowns and Emmanuel has to explain : 

“It’s from the eighteenth century and…”

“Seriously ?” reacts Justin who can’t believe what he is hearing 

“Sorry. It’s silly. Sit down.” 

“Hey.” calls Justin forcing Emmanuel to remove one of his hands from his face “It’s okay, I’m not going to stain precious furniture with your sperm dripping from my wonderful arse.” 

Justin grabs his boxers and spreads them on the sofa, before sitting on them. Just in case. 

“Better ?” he asks his boyfriend 

“I’m so sorry.” shamefully answers the President “You certainly know that all pieces of furniture are on lease from national collections, and I’d rather not have to explain how I stained it with semen…” 

“Stop talking now, love.” smiles the amused Canadian “And get on your knees.” 

The French get down on his knees between the legs of his boyfriend, and he licks his lips in anticipation. He is going to give his boyfriend the time of his life. He approaches his mouth from the long hard rod of his partner and sticks his tongue out. This simple view is highly obscene and Justin tucks his fingers into the hair of his lover, to encourage him to continue. Emmanuel tantalizingly takes his time, licking the large base of the cock he holds still in his hand. Then he licks it from base to top, teasing the tip with a wrapping movement of his tongue, and he follows the trail of a vein down to the outline of the glans, that he teases, making Justin pant in response. His hand is still playing with Emmanuel’s hair, keeping from pressing his head further on him, as much as he’d like to do so. The French comes back on the tip of Justin’s penis and he takes him between his lips. 

“Oh Emmanuel !” shouts the Canadian 

He sucks on the tip for a few seconds, and inhales deeply through his nose before diving deeper on it. This time, what Justin moans is gibberish and makes absolutely no sense, which was what Emmanuel intended to do. This time, it is much more difficult for the PM to keep from pushing on the back of Emmanuel’s head, but he tries to not overdo it, afraid to hurt or choke his boyfriend. The French is an expert in what he is doing, and he uses his lips and tongue to send pleasure directly to his boyfriend’s brain. Justin is not able to think straight and his body is fueled only by pleasure. His sperm floods Emmanuel’s throat not long later and the French patiently wait, teasing the testicles of his partner, to make sure he empties himself completely in him. It takes long minutes to Justin to calm down and stop moving on the sofa. His legs are still agitated by little spasms of pleasure, and he pants hard, his eyes to the ceiling, his mouth wide open on the strangled cry of pleasure that escaped his lips when he orgasmed. Emmanuel is cleaning his intimacy, with soft tongue moves, and a smirk on his face. 

“Why are you smirking ?” asks Justin slowly coming back to reality. 

“Because your orgasm face is adorable too, honey.” 

They smile at each other and Emmanuel lets himself down on the floor, sitting with his legs crossed, catching his breath and trying to relax for a little while. This has been wild. But incredible. They reconnected in the best way they knew how, and they are glad they got this opportunity. Justin extends his hand and helps Emmanuel get on his feet. The French joins him on the sofa, and he lies down, his head on the naked lap of his boyfriend. Justin keeps mindlessly playing with strands of hair as they keep talking together. His other hand trails back and forth in between the pectorals muscles of his boyfriend, and it almosts rocks the French to sleep. 

“It feels good to be in your arms.” says Emmanuel with a smile “Really good.” 

“I know. And I feel great to be spending time with you. I really missed that you know. I kept thinking about this, ever since my plane landed in France yesterday…” 

“But you did interesting things here, didn’t you ?”

“I did.” admits the Canadian “Thank you for allowing me to visit Notre-Dame, I needed to see it with my own eyes, and I know how limited those visits are.” 

“You’re my boyfriend, you can ask anything from me.” chuckles the President “But I know how important it was for you.” 

“Thank you, Mister President.”

“You are welcome, Prime Minister.” 

They laugh and Justin leans forward to steal a quick kiss from his boyfriend’s lips. 

“About yesterday’s evening,” starts the French President “those naughty texts of yours…” 

“Did you like them ?”

“It put me in a state you can’t even imagine.” answers Emmanuel “You got me horny and unable to act on that desire.” 

“And you had a reception yesterday evening, right ?” 

“I did. It was a nightmare.” 

Justin smiles, proud of himself. He loves to tease Emmanuel, and spending the day so close to him, but without being able to touch him, drove him crazy the previous evening. And when in such a state of mind, he does reckless things. 

“You are a handsome devil.” comments Emmanuel.

“I thought the handsome devil was Lucifer, you know, the hot one from Netflix ?”

They discussed the show last week, Justin having caught up with it on a quiet evening with Sophie, while Emmanuel binge-watched a couple of episodes one night he couldn’t fall asleep. 

“You are not even remotely funny, you know.” jokes Emmanuel “And we still have important things to discuss.”

“Such as ?” 

“We need to discuss the G7 agenda, Justin.” sighs the French President “I need your opinion on that, and on a lot other subjects.” 

“I’m listening, love…” 

They spend one more hour discussing and reviewing together the fate of the World, and the bilateral subjects that regard both of their countries. It helps them to share this intimacy while they are working, and even if they disagree on some subject, they try to be honest with each other, as much as possible, to work as efficiently as possible. Justin stops mid-sentence when he notices Emmanuel shivering. 

“... don’t think that Angela would…” 

He pauses, frowns and asks : 

“Are you cold, Manu’ ?”

“Freezing.” admits the French President. 

“And when were you planning on telling me ?” scowls his boyfriend “Good Lord, Emmanuel, it’s as if you’re doing everything to fall ill. Get up and get dressed.” 

He stops touching him and Emmanuel gets on his feet. He gathers his clothes and starts dressing up in silence. He doesn’t like the tone that Justin used with him. It’s exactly the same that the Canadian uses with his kids, and Emmanuel feels ashamed to be treated like a child. Justin pulled up his underwear, and trousers, and he is getting into his socks when he notices the unusual silence from his lover. 

“Love ? What’s wrong ?” 

“Nothing.” brushes off the French. 

“Emmanuel,” says Justin “I know you. Please, talk to me.”

“This, what you are doing. Telling me off and all… You are using the exact same tone you are using with your kids, and I don’t like it.”

“Did I really ?” frowns his lover. 

“Yes.” cringes Macron. 

“I’m sorry.” answers Justin “I really am. You know that it was not my intention.”

They exchange a smile and Emmanuel kisses his boyfriend on the lips to apologize. He overreacts easily, and should not be angry at his boyfriend for taking care of him. They finish getting dressed, not tying their ties , and leaving their jackets aside for now. They are not ready to go out just yet. They want to stay together for a while longer. They need it. 

“Will Sophie be coming to Normandy next month ?” asks Emmanuel caressing the cheek of his partner. 

“It is not in her plans to do so, but if you really want to see her, I can arrange that.” teases the Canadian in response.

A nervous chuckle escapes Emmanuel’s lips. He will never be a big fan of his lover’s wife, being overly jealous, but he makes tremendous efforts for it not to show. 

“I can’t wait for the G7 in Biarritz,” laughs Justin “you having to face me and Sophie for a whole dinner is going to piss you off so much. And to put you in a unimaginable state of frustration…” 

“Don’t start me on this. This is going to be a challenge for both of us, you know ?” 

“You are the most jealous of us both.”

“But you are the most eager of us both.” replies Emmanuel very seriously. 

They stare at each other for five long seconds before bursting into laughter. This G7 summit is going to be interesting. Because of its international stakes, first and foremost, but also because of the secret they are sharing, and that will certainly put them on edge during this extraordinary week. But first they will see each other again in Normandy, for the commemorations of the D-Day, and Emmanuel will host his counterpart again in the Elysée. 

“Come with Sophie, and the children, in June, when you come to France.” he suggests suddenly “I promised you all a visit of Paris, and even though Notre-Dame is clearly out of the question, we could still organize something.” 

“Are you sure ?” frowns Justin. 

“Certain.” nods the President “Look, we have that thing in the UK on the fifth, then on the sixth we’re in Normandy, you were scheduled to come here in Paris to work on the seventh. Let’s extend your stay on the eighth, if that’s okay for you. And we’ll have the five of you for dinner. A friendly dinner, not quite like the one we had the last time you were here.” 

“Manu’...” sighs the Canadian “I appreciate the spontaneity, but this is absolutely not necessary. I wasn’t trying to say that you should challenge yourself into seeing my wife more than necessary.” 

“Sophie is a great person, and she doesn’t deserve me to despise her. And I truly love your kids, Justin. Please, have a look at your agenda, and let me know if that would work for you, alright ?” 

“I’ll have a look.” promises Justin with a quick kiss “Should we work a bit more before going out ?”

“Yes, we should. But I can’t work with you being so close to me.” 

Emmanuel kisses him languorously and then flees to the opposite sofa. There, they keep chatting for an hour more, this time tackling more pressing matters. Justin gets the chance to present a very generous offer from Canada for the rebuild of the cathedral Notre-Dame and it nearly brings Emmanuel to tears. Both of them are men attached to cultural things, and they know the priceless value of such a building. Before stepping outside of the room, Emmanuel attaches his tie, and adjusts it, with the help of his boyfriend, and he ties the one of Justin, making sure it looks as if it has never been removed from around his neck. They spend a ridiculous amount of time fixing Justin’s hair and it makes them both giggle a lot. Once they both look as presentable as always, they exchange one last, very long and passionate kiss and Emmanuel unlocks the door. Before they go out, he whispers in his boyfriend’s ear : 

“I love you, Justin. I love you so much.” 

“Likewise, Emmanuel.” grins the Canadian opening the door and gesturing him to go first “I guess we can’t avoid the press this time ?” 

“We could give them a quick sum up of what we discussed : new technologies, G7, bilateral stakes…”

“We discussed all of this over lunch, obviously ?” smirks Justin checking time on his cellphone. 

“I don’t know about you, but my lunch was… sustaining.” 

Emmanuel laughs but Justin discreetly passes a hand on his stomach. 

“I’m starving actually.” he explains to his boyfriend “But I don’t regret skipping lunch for… well… bilateral discussions…” 

He grins and they both arrive on the top of the outside stairs of the Palace. Together, and careful to not touch each other, to not betray their secret, they go down and towards the microphone to talk to the journalists for a brief while. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo, back with long/steamy chapters ! 
> 
> What did you think about it ? Emmanuel's impatience ? How eager they are to be alone with each other ? How quickly it heats up ? How reasonable they seem to be by taking things slow ? The teasing ? Emmanuel struggling (again) with Justin's belt ? The name calling ? The "riding" ? Emmanuel caring about not staining the furniture ? How they talk after sex ? Justin realizing Emmanuel is cold and telling him off ? Emmanuel enquiring if Sophie is coming next month ? His idea of inviting the whole Trudeau family next month ? How do you think that will turn out ?


	21. June 7th 2019 - Paris, France - The case of the missing sock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.  
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 21 : Secret Lovers - Atlantic Starr

“Anything else ?” asks Emmanuel lifting his blue eyes from the screen of his laptop to his Prime Minister sitting in front of him. 

Edouard Philippe shakes his head. 

“Justin ?” adds the French President turning to his boyfriend “Anything to add ?”

“Nothing to add.” concludes the Canadian with a smile.

“Good, then.” says the President “I guess we’re done, here. It’s always a pleasure to work with both of you, and we tackled a lot of important topics regarding the upcoming G7.” 

“I have to go.” says Edouard Philippe checking his wristwatch “It’s a pleasure to work with you Prime Minister Trudeau. Emmanuel, can I have a word with you, alone ?”

The two Prime Minister shake hands, and Emmanuel accompanies his friend to the door, placing a hand on Justin’s shoulder as he passes by him. A gesture that would pass as an otherwise seemingly innocent one, but that has not escaped the curious eye of Edouard Philippe. The latter closes the door of the office and says to his friend : 

“As your friend, not your Prime Minister, is there something going on between you two ?” 

“Come on, Édouard. Don’t be silly…” 

“I am not. And you are blushing. Please tell me I should not worry.” 

“You have nothing to worry about, and I’m not going to jeopardize our countries relations because their Prime Minister is adorable and charming.” 

The Prime Minister is not convinced, but he knows that the President won’t say more for now. It’ll come in due time, if Emmanuel accepts to confide in him. 

“At least you two work well together.” he chuckle “And I’m late. Have a good day, Emmanuel !” 

He vanishes quickly, and the French President returns in his office. He closes the door and locks it, to be left alone with his boyfriend. He stays with his back to Justin for a second, trying to dismiss the fact that he blatantly lied to one of his closest friend. But he doesn’t know yet if he can trust Edouard Philippe about this or not. 

“Love ?” whispers Justin in his ear as he wraps both arms around his waist “What happened ?”

“He’s on us.” groans Emmanuel in response “He’s sure I’m in love with you. But he has… reservations about you. He can’t read you like he can read me, and that drives him insane.” 

“Which is a good thing, right ? To keep our relationship secret…” 

“He’s one of my closest friend, and colleague. I always feel a bit guilty about lying to him.” 

“What if lying to him…” starts Justin reaching for the belt buckle of his boyfriend “... means protecting me ?” 

“I can live with that I guess.” 

Emmanuel smirks and turns around to kiss his boyfriend. He gives a quick glance at the window though. Luckily, his office gives on the garden, and at this hour of the day, no one is wandering around, but it’s better if they don’t take any chances. 

“Honey,” he says stealing a quick kiss from the lips of the very tempting Canadian “as much as I love kissing you, there are windows here, and I don’t want to take any risks in being seen.” 

“Fine for me.” laughs Justin. 

He still managed to remove the French’s belt, and he drops it on one of the chairs in the office, while Emmanuel draws the lighter set of curtains over the windows. It shades the room enough for them not to be seen from the outside. 

“Better…” whispers the French President with a very promising tone. 

Justin has got rid of his suit jacket, and he is removing his tie, giving a quick glance to his wristwatch. 

“I have to be gone in twenty minutes, love.” he says “Do you mind ?” 

“It’ll have to do, I guess. It’s not like we have any other choice. Who are you meeting afterwards ?”

“The Canadian Ambassador.” answers Justin “And then I pick up Sophie, and the kids.”

“Where are you going ?” questions the French joining him to unbutton his shirt. 

“The Louvre.” answers his boyfriend removing his own belt to spare his boyfriend the struggle “My daughter has begged me, on her knees, to go and see Mona Lisa.” 

“It’s really not worth it, you know.” chuckles Emmanuel sliding Justin’s shirt down his shoulders “There are much better things to see.”

“I know.” answers the Canadian kissing him in the neck “We planned a quick tour of what’s essential in the museum. But my security service asked that we spend no more than two hours and a half inside. Which will be quite the struggle.” 

“You know that I could have arranged for you to have a private tour ?” 

Justin does not answer immediately, too busy kissing Emmanuel just below the ear. The French President tilted his head backwards to appreciate this contact even more, and one of his hand comes find the back of Justin’s head, and mess with the strands of hair he finds on his way. Justin grumbles something unintelligible and Emmanuel laughs. 

“We need to speed up.” whispers the French “Why didn’t you ask for the Museum ? I could have done that for you…” 

“I’m not one to ask for favors.” 

“Justin, you are my boyfriend.” sighs Emmanuel shaking his head in disbelief “You can ask anything.” 

Justin shuts him up with a kiss and his lover uses all his strength to pull out of this delicious embrace. His boyfriend is shirtless in his office, and it looks deliciously tempting. But they are in a rush. 

“Get rid of your shoes and socks,” instructs Emmanuel “while I look for the lube.” 

Justin removes his shoes and he sends his socks flying through the room, to make his boyfriend laugh, which works splendidly. Emmanuel found a small tube of lubricant he hid in his office desk earlier in the day and he cleared a space on the said desk. 

“Come here.” he says to Justin “Please, honey.” 

Justin smiles and joins him on his side of the desk, leaning against the edge, only wearing his trousers and underwear. Both of them are really hard, and with a quick glance to his watch, Justin indicates : 

“You have twelve minutes left, love. Will that be enough ?” 

“Are you doubting me ?” 

The President arches an eyebrow and opens the fly of his boyfriend’s trousers. It falls down at Justin’s ankles and the playful French lowers his eyes to the bulge he sees inside the retro underwear his lover is wearing. Today, Justin’s boxers are grey, with blue and red vertical lines. 

“It was the closest thing I found from a French flag.” chuckles the Prime Minister.

“Naughty.” comments his partner approaching his hand. 

He caresses the hard rod of his boyfriend who fails at refraining a moan from escaping his lips. 

“You’ll have to stay a little bit quieter than usual, Justin.” says Emmanuel, kissing his lips to ease his frustration “There might be people passing by in the corridors around my office, and we wouldn’t want them to hear us.” 

“No we don’t want that.” nods Justin against the lips of his partner. 

His boyfriend wrapped an arm around his chest, and his free hand dives inside his underwear, to tease the already very eager cock, which is impatient to get its release. 

“Do you want to… ?” starts Emmanuel with a smirk. 

“Would you let me ?” questions his boyfriend. 

“If you want to, yes.” 

“Then for once, if you don’t mind, I’d like to fuck your pretty arse. Please.” 

“Since you asked politely.” jokes the French. 

He gives the lube to his partner and helps him get rid of his underwear. With a few experts movements of his fingers, Justin lubes his dick, preparing it for his boyfriend. Emmanuel lowers his trousers and underwear at the same time, just enough to free his bum, but nothing more, and he swaps places with Justin. His lover kisses him in the neck, and the French President bends over his desk, elbows resting on the wood, legs solidly anchored on the floor. It’ll be rough, it’ll be quick, but so satisfying. The Canadian positions himself, one hand on Emmanuel’s shoulder, the other one on his opposite hip, and he pushes himself inside the unprepared hole.

“Oh God !” grunts Emmanuel as the large rod of his partner tears him apart. 

By reflex he grabs the opposite edge of his desk and Justin leans over him, his warm chest on his back, his breath sending shiver down his spine. 

“Are you alright, love ?” he murmurs to the ear of his partner.

“More than alright.” manages to moan his lover overwhelmed by a pleasure he hadn’t felt rising in his body “But hurry if you don’t want to be la-ah-ate !” 

Justin took him by surprise and moved his hips, diving even further inside of him, and both of them moaned at the same time. 

“Damn !” exclaims the French President “You really know how to use your hips, Mister Prime Minister.” 

“And you actually know how to comply sometimes.” 

Justin pins him down on the desk and starts fucking him faster, keeping an eye on the time. He’d like to spend the whole afternoon with his boyfriend, but unfortunately he is tied with a very busy schedule. 

“Oh Manu’ !” he whispers “It feels so damn good !” 

He is slightly less vocal than usual, but he expresses how he feels with tender kisses in the neck of his boyfriend, and a firm grip on the bare skin of his lover’s arse. That might leave a slight mark, but right now, none of them care. 

“I’m close, love.” says Justin “I guess you don’t mind me coming inside you ?”

“Not. At. All.” articulates the French between sighs of pleasure. 

His knuckles, on the edge of the desk are white, and he needs all his willpower to not thrust his whole body towards Justin, to feel him deeper inside of him. He is blinded by his own pleasure, and nothing else makes sense anymore. The only thing that matters is the powerful thrusts of his boyfriend inside of him, and the waves of pleasure going straight to his brain. Justin’s hand reaches for one of his own, and they intertwine fingers. 

“I’m going to come, Emmanuel.” warns the Canadian, his voice deepened by his very-close orgasm.

With a thrust deeper than the other, he grunts and ejaculates inside Emmanuel, his whole body tense, his hands grasping his boyfriend tighter than he normally would. He muffles his cry of pleasure in the neck of his boyfriend, his soft lips brushing against the sweaty skin of Emmanuel. He pants for a long minute, unable to properly catch his breath. This orgasm took him entirely, and he feels exhausted, but insanely satisfied. And fulfilled. 

“You feel amazing around me, Manu’.” he whispers in his boyfriend’s ear “I don’t want to move.” 

They both lift up their gaze to their intertwined fingers and the wrist of the Canadian on which they look at the time. 

“I have five minutes to reciprocate.” sighs Justin 

“Do not worry about me, honey.” says Emmanuel “I can do well by myself.” 

“Oh, you certainly won’t. Do you have anything in your desk to minimize the mess ?” 

“Bottom left drawer.” groans Emmanuel “There’s a towel.” 

Justin withdraws from his boyfriend, with regrets, and crouches down to get the towel from the said drawer. He wipes his own cock clen from the mixture of semen and lube while Emmanuel turns on himself, to lean against the desk, facing his boyfriend. 

“You don’t have to do that, honey.” says Emmanuel with a smile, giving a gentle stroke on his lover’s face “I don’t want you to be late.” 

“Shut up !” 

“Fine, fine !” laughs the French 

Justin kneels down and lowers Emmanuel trousers and trunks to his knees, freeing the hard cock that he is eager to suck. They have no time for teasing, and Justin immediately takes it with one hand, and parts his lip, diving onto the flesh rod. 

“Oh damn !” exclaims Emmanuel letting his fingers wander through the messy hair of his boyfriend “Oh Justin you are such an expert !” 

It makes the Canadian chuckle, and suck harder, bringing his over-excited partner on the verge of orgasm in no-time. 

“Oh ! Justin ! Stop !” nearly screams Emmanuel feeling close to the non-return point “I won’t be able to hold back for much longer.” he adds, panting from the tremendous effort he is doing to not come right this instant between the divine lips of the Canadian. 

“Go on. Let yourself go.” says Justin replacing his mouth by his hand “Give it to me.” 

Emmanuel closes his eyes and surrenders. He lets the orgasm take him, and his sperm ends up all over Justin’s hands. It’s a heavy load, and thankfully for them, the Canadian thought about placing the towel underneath them beforehand, sparing them both the burden of having to explain semen stains on the carpeted floor of the President’s office. Justin waits until Emmanuel reopens his eyes and locks his gaze back on him. 

“Thank you.” mutters the French quietly “Now wipe your hands and get dressed.” 

Justin chuckles and wipes his hands on the towel. Emmanuel pulls his trousers up and zips the fly close. He then looks through the drawer of his desk for something, and his boyfriend can’t help but ask : 

“What are you searching ?”

“Hand sanitizer.” explains the French “For you.” 

He finally finds it and pours some in Justin’s hand so he can wash them. In the meantime, he starts gathering the Canadian’s clothes, so Justin can dress as quickly as possible. The man is already running a bit behind schedule, but they’ll try to minimize the time loss as much as possible. 

“My team is going to kill me.” laughs Justin checking his watch and jumping into his underwear “But I don’t care. This was too good to be missed. And you deserved to be pleased too. Where are my socks ?”

“I don’t know.” answers Emmanuel “I’m looking for them. Put the rest of your clothes on, Justin.” 

The French president is looking all around his office, trying to remember where his boyfriend sent his socks flying when he removed them, but this memory is somewhat blurry and he doesn’t see the socks anywhere. 

“What do they look like ?” he asks to his partner. 

“Green with black feathers.” immediately answers the Canadian who pulled up his trousers and placed his belt back around his waist. 

He grabs his shirt and look around the room with his boyfriend, looking for the missing socks. 

“I can’t go without my socks.” he says biting his lip. 

He buttons his shirt up as Emmanuel kneels down to look under his desk. But no trace of the damn socks. 

“You are late already, honey.” says the French “Maybe you should go.” 

"My socks are my trademark Emmanuel ! I can't go out without socks on, people will talk !" 

"Fine." sharply answers the French president "Keep looking for them then. It's not as if you were already late…" 

Justin blinks several time at him. What happened to the moment of bliss they shared ? Are they really arguing over socks ? They can’t have disappeared anyway, they will surely find them. Emmanuel is still on all fours, looking under the furnitures, but Justin feels his phone buzzing in his pocket. He is really late, and he will have to go. With or without socks. He puts his shoes on, and laces them, realizing that he will need to leave soon. 

“Can I have a kiss before I go ?”

“Oh, I thought you prefered socks.” answers the President with irony. 

“Come on, love.” 

The French gets up and wraps his arms around his boyfriend’s neck. 

“I’m sorry for your socks.” he murmurs “I’ll look for them. Try not to get busted by the journalists on your way out. Please.” 

“Don’t be mad at me, okay ?”

“I’m not.”

“Just a tiny bit ?”

“Just a bit.” admits the French. 

They keep kissing until Justin’s phone starts buzzing again. It’s his security service, wondering what’s taking him so long. They are waiting for him to come out, to take him to the Canadian embassy, where he is awaited. He is now fifteen minutes late, and time keeps flying. 

“I really have to go, love.” he says “I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“I love you, Justin.” answers Emmanuel “But I had better things to do this afternoon than to look for your damn socks.” 

“I know. I’m sorry.” 

“Go now.” 

“I’m on my way.”

Justin takes a few steps, turns around, comes back to Emmanuel, kisses him and says : 

“I love you too, Manu’. See you tomorrow.” 

And he runs towards the door. He unlocks it and vanishes, trying to catch up with the lost time. Emmanuel keeps looking for his boyfriend’s socks, and five minutes later he finds one under a pedestal table, and he immediately calls Justin with his cellphone. 

“Missing me already ?” jokes Justin picking up the call.

“I found one !” replies his boyfriend with a smile. 

“Good.” says the Canadian “Thank you. What about the other one ?”

“I’m still looking.” says Emmanuel who is, indeed, still looking “Do you have socks in your car that you can put on to minimize the mess ?” 

“Only sports one. But I’ll find a way.” chuckles Justin “And you find that damn missing sock, because if your wife finds it, or someone else, or if Nemo picks it up from somewhere…” 

“I know, I know, we’re fucked.” 

“You were the one that got fucked !” laughs his lover “I have to go now. I’ll leave you to your treasure hunt.” 

“Very funny, Justin.” answers Emmanuel a bit annoyed by the lack of involvement of his boyfriend “Don’t you remember where you threw it ?”

“Absolutely not.” 

“I’ll look for it. Have a nice afternoon.” 

“Thanks. You too.” 

“Justin ?”

“Yes, love ?”

“Send me pictures of you and your family at the Louvre, please.”

“I’ll do that. It’s a promise.” 

“Thank you. See you tomorrow.” 

Emmanuel hangs up and throws his phone on the desk. He overhears the small footsteps of his dog approaching down the corridor and Nemo pops his head through the door left open by Justin on his way out. He comes inside the room and Emmanuel pets the top of his head, still trying to locate the missing piece of fabric. Maybe if he opens the curtains, he’ll see better. He draws the curtains open and Nemo picks up Justin’s second sock from the floor just in front of the window. 

“There it is !” exclaims the French President “Good boy ! Give that back to me !” 

But Nemo is in a mood to play, which is not the case of Emmanuel, and when the dog runs away inside the office, the President sighs loudly. Not now. His first reflex is to close the door so that the dog does not wander into the Palace with the incriminating object between his teeth. 

“Come here, Nemo.” calls the President dropping on his knees “Please.” 

But the dog retreated in a corner of the room and dropped the sock on the floor, waiting for his master to pick it up. He is about to do so when his phone starts buzzing on his desk. What now ? He picks up the call without even bothering looking at the caller and waits for the person to talk, while picking up the sock from the floor. 

“Hi Emmanuel, I hope I’m not disturbing.”

That’s Tiphaine, his stepdaughter. But why is she calling in the middle of the afternoon ?

“Hello Tiphaine.” he answers “No you’re not. What do you want ?” 

“I’d like to know at what time I can drop the kids tomorrow.”

Emmanuel pauses, frowns, folds the socks of his boyfriend and sits down at his desk. 

“What for ?” he asks 

“Because you and Mom agreed on babysitting them tomorrow evening.” she replies.

“That’s impossible.” laughs Emmanuel “We’re having the Trudeaus for dinner tomorrow evening.” 

“And I arranged with you, months ago, to make sure you could take the kids for the night. You told me yes, you noted the date and you agreed for it.” 

“Tiphaine, don’t you think that I would remember if I agreed upon such a thing ?”

He opens his agenda and checks what he noted for the next evening. He indeed wrote that he should babysit his grandchildren : Elise and Aurèle. Fuck. But when he arranged with Justin, he did not check his calendar for a potential clash, absolutely certain that he had nothing planned at that date. His stepdaughter heard his silence, and she waits for him to admit he was wrong. 

“We really can’t tomorrow, Tiphaine. I’m sorry. We’re going to have to reschedule that.” 

“We’re going out with Antoine, I can’t reschedule that.” 

“Can’t you get a babysitter ?”

“Not on such short notice, Emmanuel. And the kids are over excited to be coming to your place !”

He sighs deeply and buries his face into his hands. His whole day derailed entirely. Nemo rests his head on his knee and he pets him absentmindedly, trying to find a loophole, to not have to babysit his grandchildren tomorrow evening, but he can’t argue with Brigitte’s daughter. 

“Who are you having for dinner tomorrow ?” she questions. 

“Justin Trudeau.” he says “And his family.” 

“Oh. He’s coming with wife and kids ? It’s perfect then, the children will be able to play together.”

“Tiphaine.” he sighs “I really can’t. I’m sorry.”

“But you promised. We have no other solution to watch the kids.”

“FINE.” he roars "Why are you ALL getting on my nerves today ?!" 

"All ?" she answers a bit surprised.

“Nevermind.” he brushes off “Drop them off no later than four. With an overnight bag. And dress them classy, please.” 

“Thank you so much, Emmanuel.”

“You know I can’t say no to you, Tiphaine. But don’t tell your mother I forgot that we had to babysit the little monsters. Please…” 

“Oh, she’ll know.” 

“I know. But the later, the better.” 

They laugh and Emmanuel hangs up. Fuck. He fucked up on everything. How could he forget about this ? He slams his agenda shut and lets his head slide into his hand until it rests on the cold wood of his desk. He takes a few deep breaths to calm down. Today was both extremely satisfying and deeply unsettling. He hopes Justin didn’t get busted on his socks, and that Brigitte won’t make any remarks on him forgetting about their grandchildren. How could he have forgotten ? he needs to be more careful : when it comes to Justin, he tends to forget everything else, and one day, they are going to be stuck in a really inextricable situation. Thankfully, they haven’t planned a state dinner for their Canadian friends. What if they did ?

“Emmanuel ?” 

Fuck. The French president grabs his boyfriend’s socks and makes them disappear in his desk as he lifts his head towards his wife. 

“Honey ?” he says with a smile. 

“I just had Tiphaine on the phone.” she answers “Did you remember we had the kids to watch tomorrow ?”

“No.” he sighs “You ?”

“You’re the one who keeps track of such things. And you are the one who invited the Canadians for dinner. How could you let that clash ?”

Brigitte moved forward into his office and sat onto his desk. Emmanuel is glad he thought about stashing the dirty towel away in his drawer, but he just noticed, that he forgot to put the lube back where it belonged. And if Brigitte notices that, it’s over... His heart starts pounding harder into his chest, and he gets up, going around his desk to drive her attention away from his messy workplace. He places his hand on her cheek and says :

“I guess our grandchildren will have the privilege of meeting our friends.” 

“You never checked your agenda ?”

“Never. Inviting Justin and his family for dinner went to me on an impulse, I just made sure neither of us had any other official thing to do. But I wrote Aurèle and Elise months ago in the agenda and never questioned again why.”

“Do you feel comfortable having them, and the Trudeaus around at the same time ?”

“Yes. I guess I am.” 

“Then it’s settled.” 

“I told Tiphaine to not tell you,” chuckles the President “but as usual she did not listen…” 

“She was worried about you.” explains his wife stealing a soft kiss from her husband’s lips “You sounded preoccupied and pissed. Did you fight with someone ? Edouard ? Justin ?”

“No one. Don’t worry.” grins Emmanuel “I am perfectly fine.” 

“You weren’t when I walked in.” 

Once again, she is right. But he brushes her uncertainties off, and kisses her with a lot of passion. They are good, and everything will go smoothly tomorrow evening. Even though he won’t be able to kiss Justin, or even touch him for that matters. But they’ll behave, like the adults they are, because they need to see if they are able to control themselves around their wives. Or the G7 will be a nightmare. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooo ? What did you think of this chapter ? Edouard being slightly worried about Emmanuel and Justin's relationship ? Emmanuel lying to his face ? Emmanuel feeling guilty about it ? Justin and Emmanuel deciding to take advantage of every single minute they have together ? The VERY VERY VERY STEAMY HOT SEX ? How Justin makes sure that emmanuel is satisfied too even if they don't have much time ? Justin not being able to find his socks back ? How they "argue" over the sock problem ? Justin going out without his socks ? Emmanuel finding the socks (finally) with a bit of help ? The phone call with Justin ? The phone call with his stepdaughter ? How he realizes the DEEP mistake he made ? The way Emmanuel just gives up and agrees on the babysitting ? Brigitte checking up on him ? Emmanuel nearly getting caught because he forgot to put the lube back in his desk ? Them being confident that the dinner will be okay ? 
> 
> And you ? How do you feel about that dinner ? Will Emmanuel behave around Sophie ? How the grandchildren of Brigitte and Emmanuel will add to the nervousness of the whole evening ? What will happen with Justin's children ? Will Justin and Emmanuel find a way to sneak out and at least exchange a kiss ? ------ You'll get all your answers next week, but please, give me your theories ^^


	22. June 8th 2019 - Paris, France - Struggles and Temptations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.
> 
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 22 : Let it go (Frozen) - ideally an instrumental piano version (the Piano Guys have an amazing version)

Emmanuel slightly shifts one of the plates that just got placed on the table. It looks too perfect, and it’s stressing him. They said informal dinner, and this is starting to look all too much like a state dinner. 

“Pa’ !” calls Elise from the edge of the fountain “Look at me !” 

“Elise, sweetie, you know you’re not supposed to walk there.” he answers. 

But the little girl is jumping around the fountain in the middle of the garden, Brigitte keeping an eye on her, and on her little brother, Aurèle, who is, for now, colouring calmly, on a nearby bench. Their grandchildren arrived two hours ago, and Emmanuel already feels exhausted by them. He loves them, but they are a lot to handle. The Canadians are due to arrive in the next ten minutes, and the perspective to have three more children, or more correctly : one more child, and two nearly-teens running around is not something he is thrilled about. But he insisted on having them for dinner. And it’ll be a good time to spend with their friends. And a good occasion to prove to Justin that he can behave around Sophie, and that the G7 dinner in August won’t be a disaster. Nemo joins them and Elise jumps from the low wall on which she was walking to pet the dog. Brigitte, wearing a fuschia jumpsuit and stilettos joins her husband and asks him : 

“Are you alright ? You seem nervous.” 

“I’m worried about our two little terrors right here ruining the night.” 

“It’s going to be alright, darling. Don’t worry about them. You know how they transform around strangers. And Justin and Sophie have three kids, I think they can understand.”

“AURELE !” suddenly roars Emmanuel jumping aside to grab the little boy before he throws his pencils into the fountain “You can’t do that, Aurèle.” 

He picks up the boy and keeps him in his arms as he watches the back portal of their property opening. He asked for Justin to be arriving there, to avoid journalists and cameras. It’ll be better for all of them. But they’ll still indulge on one picture, taken with Justin and Sophie, and maybe the Canadian children, to post on their social media. 

“Who’s coming ?” asks the boy to his grandfather

“Our Canadian friends, remember ?”

“Oh, right.” nods the boy “Can I go back to my colouring book ?” 

“Sure.” 

Emmanuel puts him back on the floor but keeps an eye on him in case he gets the wonderful idea of approaching the fountain again. Which would be a bold move. Elise has vanished further away with Nemo, and Brigitte and him approach the car to greet their guests. Justin is the first one out, with Hadrien in his arms, and Ella-Grace just behind him. Sophie unboards the car, with Xavier, from the other side of the car, and Brigitte steps around to greet them. Emmanuel starts by extending his hand for Ella-Grace, and the little girl timidly shakes it. 

“You can kiss her on the cheeks, you know.” laughs Justin. 

Emmanuel greets the young girl a bit more friendly, and he then shakes hands with Hadrien. Justin places his son on the floor and pulls his boyfriend into a long hug. Even if they saw each other only yesterday, they missed each other. With regrets, they break this embrace, and clear their throats nervously. Emmanuel shakes hands with Xavier and kisses Sophie on both cheeks, complimenting her on the dress she’s wearing. 

“It’s a pleasure to be here, really.” she says to him with a genuine smile “And the kids love Paris. We might be coming more often.” 

“We’ll have you as often as you want to.” grins Emmanuel exchanging a quick glance with his boyfriend “Your husband and I work well together, you know.” 

“I know.” she chuckles.

“Elise ! Aurèle !” calls Brigitte “Come and say hello, please !” 

“As I told Justin this morning,” explains Emmanuel “I misread my agenda, and we have two of our grandchildren in babysitting for the night.” 

Elise comes from the back of the garden, intrigued by the new faces, but her little brother has gone into hiding and Emmanuel goes look for him. Justin introduces himself to the newcomer. 

“Good evening young lady, my name is Justin.” 

He extends his hand and she hesitates for a second. She silently questions her grandmother who nods and she finally shakes the Canadian PM hands. He then proceeds to quickly introduce his family, and Emmanuel comes back with Aurèle in his arms. The boy is terrified to see so many new people that he doesn’t know and Emmanuel reassures him. he introduces them, and the Canadians wave at him in turns. Once it’s done, Emmanuel suggests for them to move forward and go grab something to drink on the buffet they had installed in front of the house. He keeps his grandson in his arms for a second and the boy whispers to him : 

“Pa’, what’s with their funny accent ?” 

“It’s because they are from Canada, they speak a French with an accent slightly different than us, but you’ll get used to it, don’t worry. Can I put you down, now ?” 

“Yep.”

“And stay away from the fountain, please.” 

He lets the boy go, and joins his friends on the terrace. He takes a glass and pours himself some white wine. Xavier and Ella have gone sitting further away, sipping juice and chatting calmly, Hadrien is playing with Elise, and Nemo, and Aurèle is back to his colourings for now. 

“We got lucky the sun is shining.” smiles Justin pulling out his sunglasses from his trousers pocket and adjusting them on his nose “That park is amazing.” 

“It is.” comments Brigitte “We use it a lot for receptions in the summertime. And here, with the kids, we thought it’d be nicer. And a bit less formal.” 

“It will still feel awfully stilted, though.” chuckles Emmanuel “We have personnel and a chef, even when we receive friends, but we’ll try to obliviate them as much as possible.” 

“Don’t worry,” says Sophie “it will be good as it is.” 

“To be fair, we did set the bar quite high when we had you for dinner in Ottawa.” jokes Justin. 

Emmanuel laughs and as Brigitte and Sophie sit down to discuss, he and Justin start walking down the park, their glasses in hand. The Canadian is drinking a dark brown beer, and they keep silent for a long while, unsure on what to say to each other. Most of their conversation goes through glances and smiles, until they are far enough from the children, and they can speak more freely. 

“I have your socks in my office drawer.” chuckles Emmanuel “It took me forever to find the second one.” 

“Where was it ?”

“In front of the window.”

“Damn. I really have to learn how to aim.” 

They laugh and look at each other. They are dying to touch each other, something not really intimate, only a hand on the arm, or the shoulder, but even that feels oddly inappropriate with their family nearby. So they keep their hands to themselves. But it’s a struggle. 

“How was the Eiffel Tower ?” asks Emmanuel who got a bunch of pictures from his boyfriend this morning and saw the ones that Justin posted on his social media afterwards. 

“Really great.” smiles Justin “And I’m glad we got the chance to do this before the tourists crowded the place. I couldn’t imagine, security-wise, the mess it would have been if we had gone there later on…” 

“I am happy that you could see, and enjoy it, while empty. The pictures were excellent.” 

“Thanks for arranging it for us, Manu’.” smiles the Canadian placing his hand on the shoulder of his boyfriend “The boys were really excited to be going there. And they insisted on climbing by the stairs.”

“Did you ?”

“Take the stairs ? What other choice did I have ? That compensated for not being able to jog at all during my whole trip to France.” 

“Oh, you did a lot of physical activities here, Justin.” smirks the French President “Don’t worry about staying in shape.” 

They smile at each other and keep walking, arriving in the furthest corner of the park, one that is hidden from view, but as much as they’d like to let go of their inhibitions, it’s still not a good place. Still, while walking next to each other, Justin let his hand brush against the one of his lover, and this brief but intimate contact made them blush a little. 

“How do you feel about having Sophie around ?” says Justin to his boyfriend with a soft voice. 

“I’m good. She is nice, she is a good friend to my wife, and I really need to learn to appreciate her.” 

“She’s worth knowing, you’ll see.” 

“I know. And I owe you at least this.” 

Justin checks that no one can see them and he discreetly caresses the cheek of his boyfriend. 

“Don’t do it for me. Do it for you. This jealousy is not productive, and it’s not going to help us protect this relationship we have.” 

He removes his hand and sighs. 

“I really wish I could kiss you.” 

“I’d love that too.” sighs the French “But you know it’s too risky. And it would be unfair to your family. And mine.” 

“I know. Let’s head back to them…” 

They walk their way back to the Palace, still discussing about what the Canadians did during their trip. A football emerges from between two trees and ends up between the feet of the French President who frowns and prepares himself to kick it back. 

“Where did you find that ?” he asks to Ella-Grace who came running after it. 

“Further down there.” she says “I hope you don’t mind.” 

“Not at all.” he answers kicking the ball back into her direction “But be careful please. I’d rather not have to take any of you to the hospital tonight.” 

“We’ll be careful, Emmanuel !” exclaims Hadrien running after his sister.

“Promise !” adds Xavier. 

Justin sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. He is about to tell something to his kids but Emmanuel shakes his head and grabs his arm. 

“Don’t.” he says “Let them play. They’re not doing anything wrong.” 

“Do I have to remind you that we, Canadians, do not have soccer running in our veins ?”

“All kids know how to kick a ball. It’s fine. I’m more worried about my grandchildren, to be honest. Those two are mischief in person.” 

“That much ?”

“Just before you arrived, I picked up Aurèle near the fountain, he was about to throw his pencils in there. Just before that, Elise was jumping around the fountain, on the edge of it, paying very little attention to her own balance as she was screaming for my attention. Mischief and drama, everywhere they go… Just like their mother.” 

He pauses and sighs. 

“Don’t tell Brigitte I said that.” he adds “That’s not what I meant.”

“They’re the kids of which of your stepdaughter ?” asks Justin with an amused smile. 

“Tiphaine, the youngest one. The one who’s younger than me,” starts the French “I do really like her, and we always had a special relationship, but she forced my hand yesterday for the kids, and they are a lot to handle those two.” 

“Don’t worry, this dinner is going to be just fine. And our three terrors are older, but a lot to handle nonetheless. Xavier is turning more and more into a rebellious teenager each day, and it starts to frighten me.” 

“What about Ella ?”

“She’s my sweet little girl…” confesses the Canadian “But she’s turning, much like her brother, into a very strong-minded person, and I’m not sure we’re ready to handle two teens at the same time. And Hadrien is still a young smart boy, but who needs a lot of attention…” 

“Well, this is going to be a fun couple of years for you.” 

They laugh and join their wives who are still chatting on the terrace. Aurèle picked up a book and he is calmly playing for now, but his sister is nowhere to be seen. 

“She’s inside.” indicates Brigitte anticipating the question Emmanuel is about to ask “Maybe you should try to grab her if we want to start snacking on something. She’s not going to listen to me anyway…” 

Emmanuel chuckles and plants a soft kiss on her lips. He places his glass on the table and goes inside to look for the little girl. Justin draws a chair and sits next to his wife. He takes Sophie’s hand in his, and tries to keep an eye on his own children as they start speaking, the three of them : 

“Sophie was telling me about your visit to the Eiffel Tower this morning,” smiles Brigitte “and Emmanuel showed me the pictures, I am happy that you got some time to enjoy this as a family. I know it’s not always easy to grab time out of official engagements when abroad.” 

“I’m trying, as much as possible, to organize these special moments either with Sophie, or the children, when we’re abroad.” answers Justin “I remember that we got the chance, my brothers and I, when we were kids, to travel the world with our father, and I wanted to do just the same with Xav’, Ella and Didi.” 

“And I think we’re managing quite well.” adds Sophie “Apart from that trip in India, that one was the worst ever…” 

“I thought we were never supposed to mention that one ever again ?” jokes the PM. 

Brigitte smirks, leaving no doubt that she knows what trip the couple is talking about. That week had been a disaster for the family’s image, and the images have been circulating online. But it was a long time ago. And their children are much older now. 

“There are snacks inside.” says Emmanuel coming back through the bay-window with Elise “And more drinks. If we manage to get the children inside.” 

“I’m on it.” says Sophie stealing a kiss from her husband’s lips. 

They all move to inside the house, Brigitte picking up Aurèle from his games, and the little boy is the first one to dip his hand into the bowl of crisps. Justin took Emmanuel’s drink back inside and when he hands him back, their fingers touch for a brief moment. Justin blushes, and Emmanuel lowers his gaze, afraid to not be able to control himself. He wants more than this touch. Much more. Sophie comes back with her children, and Emmanuel points at the table, with an assortment of crackers, crisps, and other finger food that they can share. Justin grabs another beer, having finished his own, and he serves new glasses of juice to all the children. 

“Please, try not to binge on crackers, Hadrien.” he whispers to his youngest son “You know there are a full dinner afterwards, and I’d like you to at least eat a bit of everything.” 

“What are we going to eat ?” questions his son. 

“No idea.” shrugs his father “But this is going to be excellent, you’ll see.” 

He ruffles his son’s hair and winks at him. The little boy giggles and Sophie smiles at her husband. This is the kind of moments she enjoys to see between her husband and their children. And they are rare when Justin is overwhelmed with work, which, luckily for them, he is not lately. 

“Are you the one who plays the piano ?” asks Xavier to Brigitte nodding towards the shiny instrument behind her.

“Oh no, Emmanuel is the one playing piano, not me.” she answers “It helps him relax, just like your father uses boxing to relieve stress from what I’ve heard.” 

“That’s cool.” smiles Xavier “I wish I could play an instrument.” 

“Well, young man,” says Emmanuel “you have other talents. Basketball for instance, or ice-hockey…” 

He pats him on the shoulder and smiles at him. Thanks to his boyfriend, Emmanuel knows a lot about Xavier’s talents and abilities, and he actually enjoys when Justin gets excited about his son’s games and scores. 

“Did you learn at a young age ? The piano, I mean.” asks Xavier.

“When I was a teenager, yes. But I kept playing ever since. Do you want me to play ?” 

A smile enlightens Xavier’s face and Emmanuel silently questions his wife. She shrugs : who is she to keep him from playing ? Emmanuel places his glass on top of the instrument and pulls the lid. He draws the stool and catches a surprised glance from his boyfriend. He knows how much Justin loves to see him play, and how difficult it’ll be for them to act as if everything was normal. Sophie is intrigued by the lack of sheets in front of him and she asks : 

“Do you know all songs by heart ?”

“Most of them.” he answers “Muscle memory,” he adds “I don’t remember the notes, but my fingers know what key to hit at what time. I’ve played the tunes countless times and it has somehow imprinted into my memory.” 

He stops because he doesn’t want to brag too much, and simply starts playing. He begins with a classical tune, and he notices that Justin can’t take his eyes off of his hands. He is like mesmerized, and Ella-Grace seems to have noticed. At the end of the song, she turns to her father and whispers to him : 

“Dad, did you knew he played that well ?” 

“Yes.” nods Justin blinking to dismiss all the naughty thoughts that came to his mind “He sometimes plays for me.” 

He said that out loud and five pairs of eyes frown at him at the same time. Both their wives, Emmanuel, and Xavier and Ella-Grace reacted at this very strange formulation of his. He clears his throat and blushing slightly he tries again :

“Oh God. Sorry, that’s not how I should have formulated this. Emmanuel sometimes play when we’re over the phone, so yes I know he plays really well, but classical music is not his strongest skill…” 

“You’re not wrong.” chuckles Brigitte “He actually seduced me with french standards.” 

“Did he ?” exclaims Sophie.

“All the time.” says Brigitte “He’s a real charmer.” 

Elise approached her grandfather and discussed with him in a low voice, negotiating for a song she knows he knows how to play. He kisses her on the forehead and nods. That might be fun. Justin is now leaning against the piano, to keep his eyes off Emmanuel, or else he won’t be able to keep from staring, again, and that might give them away. The Canadian PM recognizes the song with the first few notes, and he can’t help but grin. That will please the kids. Emmanuel agreed on playing Let it go, from Frozen, and he can hear Justin humming along quietly from the very first notes. 

Elise is the first one to pick up with the lyrics and Emmanuel gives her an encouraging smile so she can sing along. 

“Hey ! I know that one !” whispers Ella to her mother “But the lyrics…” 

“I know sweetheart.” says her mother “We certainly don’t have the same version.” 

“That’s from Frozen !” adds Hadrien 

Aurèle is singing with his sister, and Emmanuel makes them stop to give a chance to the Canadian kids to try their version of the song. They can alternate the singing. Justin is surprised to see his daughter sing so openly but it makes him smile, and both her brothers actually join her on the chorus. Then both French kids start singing again, and it goes like this until the end of the song. When Emmanuel hits the final note, a round of applause salutes this wonderful moment they all shared, and Justin exchange a quick look with his boyfriend, to thank him for being this extraordinary, especially around the children. He got lucky that his lover has managed to create this very special bond with his kids. Emmanuel stops playing and picks up his grandson from the floor to keep him from eating all the crisps and he smiles at Sophie who tells him : 

“I have to admit you’ve got a few tricks up your sleeves, Emmanuel. No wonder that my husband spends so much time talking with you over the phone.” 

“I’m sorry to take him from you so often.” apologizes the French President “But he and I work well as a pair, and with the time difference…”

“I know.” she brushes off “It’s fine. And I’m glad you two can support each other in international gatherings.” 

He smiles at her, and realizes that he is making progress : he starts to actually like her. To like Sophie for who she is, and not only as the wife of his boyfriend. 

“Sir ?” calmly says one of their staff members coming through the door “Dinner is ready when you are.” 

“Thank you.” answers Brigitte before her husband “We’ll be out soon.” 

They keep chatting as they go outside through the bay-window and Justin keep his boyfriend with him for a moment, behind everyone else. 

“I didn’t know you were a Disney kind of guy.” he smirks.

“I am not. That’s the only one I know how to play.” answers Emmanuel “My grandchildren begged me for it.” 

“And yet your dog is named after a Pixar character.” 

Emmanuel frowns and turns his head so quickly towards Justin that his neck cracks slightly and he refrains from swearing. The President kisses Aurèle on the forehead and lets him run away, watching him, and making sure he gets nowhere near the snacks. 

“You’re joking right ?” says Emmanuel.

“What ?” answers Justin “Isn’t it why your dog is named Nemo ?” 

His boyfriends blinks several times, trying to decide if he his making fun of him, or if he is utterly serious and therefore stupid. But Justin can’t repress his grin anymore and Emmanuel mutters : 

“You bastard ! I nearly believed you.” 

“Come on, Manu’...” jokes the Canadian “You and I both know your passion for literature. I am pretty sure that Nemo in your imagination only relate to one specific character… An adventurer of the seas. Am I wrong ?”

“Of course not.” sighs Emmanuel, quite relieved that Justin knows him that well “Have your kids read twenty-thousands leagues under the sea ?”

“It’s not really part of the Canadian culture, but I must have a copy somewhere, I’ll try to initiate them. No guarantees, though…” 

They chuckle and join the others around the table on the terrace. Their wives left them two seat between them, and they smile at each other to see they will be seating literally next to each other, and given the size of the table, at least with their knees touching. 

“We tried to go as simple as possible with the dinner.” explains Emmanuel taking his seat “But when I told our chef that we’d be having three, and then five children, for dinner, he nearly fainted…” 

“So we took the option,” continues Brigitte with a smile “and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed” she adds turning to Xavier and Ella-Grace sitting next to her “to make you a special menu.” 

“Thank you.” immediately answers Ella with a smile. 

“Thanks.” adds her brother. 

“What are we going to eat then ?” questions Hadrien whose only concern is to know what he is going to have in his stomach at the end of the day.

“Hadrien…” starts Sophie. 

“It’s alright.” says Emmanuel “I anticipated.” 

He looks in his jeans pocket for a folded sheet of paper and hands it over to the little boy. He wrote down the menu for the children on it, sure that there would be questions about it. 

“You’re getting better at this.” laughs Brigitte taking his hand on the table “Do you remember the last time we had Camille and Paul for lunch ? They kept asking for the menu until it was in their plates.” 

“Exactly what I wanted to avoid.” answers the French President. 

“And us ?” asks Justin determined to tease his boyfriend a lot tonight “What are we eating ?” 

“Chef’s salad, with scallops, pears and blue cheese.” answers a waiter placing a plate in front of the Canadian PM.

Justin is puzzled and he blushes slightly. He had not seen or heard anyone arriving and got completely taken by surprise. Emmanuel grins, and the kids are served a kids friendly version of the salad with cherry tomatoes and goat cheese. 

“We’ll be drinking French wine throughout the meal.” says Emmanuel to his guest “It comes from a small vineyard in the south of France near our summer residence…” 

“The one you brought my husband to ?” asks Sophie. 

“That one.” nods Emmanuel trying not to blush as he recalls what happened there. 

Justin asked the waiter to see the bottle, in a vain attempt to hide his embarrassment and he is reading the label of the rosé wine Emmanuel selected for their dinner. 

“Looks interesting.” he comments 

They begin eating their starters and a smile of contentment enlighten their faces. Emmanuel spent two hours discussing with the chef about the menu, which is highly unusual for him, and it was so unusual that Brigitte had to look for him because she worried about him. This dinner put him on edge, for so many reasons, but everything seems to be going well, at least for now. 

Two hours later, after the best dinner they ever had, the four adults are still around the table, while the kids have vanished since long. Except Aurèle, who dozed off in Emmanuel’s arms, under the enamored gaze of Brigitte. Justin and Emmanuel are both eating their second portion of pie, while they are all discussing about the G7 to come. 

“And do you think you will bring the kids along ?” asks Brigitte to Sophie. 

“No.” answers Justin’s wife immediately “Given the dates, we’ll have them either in camp or at my parents.” 

“Do you send them to camp every summer ?” continues Emmanuel trying to eat and to keep his grandson halfway on his shoulder at the same time. 

“Here. Let me take have him.” says Justin removing the sleeping kid from his boyfriend’s arms “I hope you don’t mind, Brigitte,” he adds “but I’m strategically better positioned than you to take the little one.” 

“I don’t mind.” she smiles in response. 

“And to answer your question, Emmanuel.” says the Canadian “Ella and Xav’ have been going to camp for a couple of years now. It will be the first year for Hadrien, but there’s no reason that he doesn’t like it. And it helps us to have at least a week just the both of us, with Sophie.” 

“A week of peace at home.” she adds with a little laugh “You can’t imagine how good it feels sometimes.” 

As she said so, Hadrien came running towards them, and he stopped next to her, looking like he was about to ask a question. 

“Let me guess,” says Justin “You’re cold and you’d like a jacket ?” 

Much to the French couple’s surprise the boy nods vigorously and Justin gestures his son to approach. 

“Do you see Bart over there, next to the car ? You go to him, and you politely ask him to open the rear door for you. Underneath my seat there is a bag, I put sweaters for you and your siblings inside. And ask Xavier and Ella if they want one too !” 

“Thanks Dad !” 

“How did you know ?” questions Brigitte when the boy goes away. 

“He’s always cold in the evenings, when he gets tired.” says Sophie “We took the habit of bringing sweaters for them everywhere we go.” 

Emmanuel refrains himself from saying that Justin brings coats and jackets everywhere he goes anyway, and that he enjoyed it more than once. 

“I’m going to put Aurèle to bed.” says the French President “It’s high-time he sleeps in a real bed, and not our arms. Justin, would you come with me ? I’d like to introduce you to our chef afterwards. You didn’t get the chance to met him the last time you came for dinner…” 

“Sure.” 

Justin gets up, still holding the sleeping toddler into his arms, and he gently tucks a lock of Sophie’s hair behind her ear, with a smile. 

“That way.” says Emmanuel showing him the way through the bay-window. 

As soon as they are far from their wives’ sight and ears, Justin says to him : 

“You couldn’t help yourself, could you ?”

“A whole dinner without being able to touch you ? Come on, Justin. You want it as much as me.” 

“I do.”

“And I have socks to give back to you.” 

“Yes. That too.” 

They laugh and Emmanuel opens the door to the private aisle of the Palace. He gets Aurèle back from Justin’s arms, and asks his boyfriend to wait for him in the little study in which he is while he brings the little boy into bed. 

“Wait.” says the Canadian with a cheeky smile “Can I get a kiss first ?”

“You are too impatient, Justin. Wait for me.” 

Emmanuel comes back less than ten minutes later, and without a word, he takes Justin’s face in his hands and he kisses him with as much love and passion as he is able to. He wanted to do that all evening, and the Canadian responds to that kiss, one of his hand finding its usual place on the back of Emmanuel’s neck, the other one in his lower back. 

“That feels so good.” whispers the French with a genuine smile when they break their kiss to grab some air “I really needed to do this.” 

“So did I.” 

They kiss again, with less emergency to it, and more appreciation, wanting to enjoy that moment as much as possible. The touch of their lips is, as usual, exquisite, and Emmanuel’s tongue taking possession of Justin’s mouth is a delight that the Canadian happily receives. 

“We should get on our way, love.” he says nonetheless when he gets the chance “As much as I like to kiss you, we can’t disappear for hours.” 

“True. Let’s go down to the kitchen first.” 

Emmanuel guide him through the corridors, taking advantage of them walking at the same pace to let their hands and arms indecently brush against each other, and they both giggle like teenagers. The wine lightened their head, and the kisses softened their hearts. When they arrive in the kitchen, Emmanuel opens the door, and steps aside to let Justin go in first. 

“Good evening.” says Emmanuel entering behind his Canadian counterpart “We came to thank the team, and the chef for the excellent dinner that was served.” 

“It is always a pleasure to cook for you, Emmanuel.” answers the chef wiping his hands to greet his guest “And your guests. A pleasure to have been cooking for you, Prime Minister Trudeau, have you enjoyed dinner ?”

“Very much.” answers Justin “My wife found it excellent as well, and the children found it delightful too.” 

“I am glad we could make you discover some of what’s France has best to offer.” 

“Don’t worry about this, Guillaume” laughs Emmanuel “he knows all about what France has to offer.” 

He sees his boyfriend blush a little, but the Canadian is too polite to say something. Both men agree, while they’re here to take a couple of pictures with the cooking team, and when they leave, Justin closes the door behind them, and pushes Emmanuel against the wall. He looks on his left, then on his right, and double checks that no one can see them : 

“Are you insane ?” he mutters to his lover “Do you want everyone to know about us ?”

“Maybe ?” jokes the President escaping the grip of his partner “Come, you have something to pick up in my office.” 

They go up to Emmanuel’s office, and lock themselves up in the dark room, kissing again like teenagers. It is so hard, when they are close like they were tonight to resist the urges to touch each other, and they are glad to find these little moments when they can simply touch and kiss. 

“I am so eager to be in Biarritz, with you, for the G7.” says Emmanuel. 

“You know that we won’t have much chances to sneak out like this, right ?”

“We’ll find our ways. We always do.” 

“I trust you on that. You are a man full of surprises. Can I get my socks back ?” 

Emmanuel looks through his drawers and puts the socks in Justin’s jeans pocket. He ensures they are not visible and steals one last kiss from his lover’s lips. 

“I love you, Justin.” he says “I love you so much.” 

“I love you too, Manu’, much more than I show you.” 

They kiss one last time and leave the office, not looking at each other. The temptation would be too hard to fight. They come back to the terrace and find Hadrien half-asleep on his mother’s knees, wrapped in a sweater way too large for him. 

“What the… ?” starts Justin frowning at his little boy and stroking the top of his head. 

“He said Xavier’s sweater was much more comfortable.” smirks Sophie. 

“And where are our two others ?” he asks.

“Strolling in the park.” she answers “Don’t worry, they’re fine. But they are starting to get tired…” 

“Understood.” nods her husband “We won’t be long, don’t worry.” 

He kisses her softly on the lips and asks one of the waiter still present if he can have another coffee. He keeps playing with his son’s hair as they talk together. 

“Your team published a couple of pictures from when we had a drink before the dinner.” says Brigitte showing Justin’s Instagram’s account on her phone “For once, your visit here won’t stay undocumented.” 

“I never think about taking pictures when we are working.” admits Emmanuel “But maybe we should.” 

“Our communication teams would be delighted.” adds Justin. 

Justin looked at the pictures, taken from afar by his bodyguard, and Emmanuel’s communication team before their dinner. After that, they vanished, and left them alone to enjoy this private moment. And it’s true, they should document their meetings more often. 

“Oh you’re back !” exclaims Xavier letting himself down on his chair. 

“You sound disappointed.” jokes his father “What were you doing ?” 

“I was looking at the stars.” he says. 

“And Ella-Grace ?”

“No bloody idea.” 

“Watch your vocabulary, young man.” warns his father with a tone that makes the lower stomach of the French President heat up “This is not how we taught you to speak. Especially in presence of other people.” 

“Sorry.” answers Xavier lowering his eyes. 

Justin avoids the gaze of his boyfriend on purpose. He discussed with Emmanuel already, this display of authority is something that turns him on, and he’d rather avoid that kind of look just now. Sophie takes Justin’s hands to calm him down and she says to him : 

“Maybe it’s time we go back to the hotel. We had a very long day…” 

“We’ll be on our way.” agrees the Canadian “I just need to find Ella.” 

“I’ll find her.” says Xavier. 

“Would you mind,” starts Emmanuel “me having a little chat with your son while we look for your daughter ?”

Justin slightly frowns, but Sophie shrugs. 

“If it’s fine for Xav’, I don’t see any wrong to this. But you seem quite restless tonight, Emmanuel, if I may.” 

“He doesn’t know when to stop” sighs Brigitte. 

“Xavier ?” asks the Canadian PM “You’re fine to go with Emmanuel ?”

“Sure.” says the boy with a little smile. 

Emmanuel grins and as they walk away, he gets his phone out of his pocket and sets the flashlight so they can see where they are walking as they look for the young girl. He also grabs a small pack of candies in the rear pocket of his jeans and with a smirk he proposes one to his boyfriend’s son. 

“Those are the strawberry ones, the ones your father really like. I snatched the pack in my office earlier, but don’t tell anyone, okay ?” 

“Thanks.” answers Xavier putting one in his mouth. 

They keep walking, in silence, Xavier waiting for Emmanuel to talk to him. The French President finishes chewing his candy and he swallows it before speaking. 

“You know…” starts the French “Your father talks about you a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean it. He talks to me about your basketball games, and how proud he is about you, and how fast you are growing up. He is a bit scared by all this.”

“Is he really ?” 

“He’s terrified. You’re not his little boy anymore, you are becoming a teenager, you are more and more independant, a little bit rebellious…”

He pauses and Xavier smirks. It’s true, he has not been the perfect son lately. 

“But your father loves you.” adds the French President “I can see how much he loves you, and your siblings. Trust me, on that point, you have nothing to fear.” 

“You and my father, you talk everyday, right ?”

“More or less, yes.” admits Emmanuel “We work, mostly.” 

“Can I ask you a very impolite question ?” suddenly says the young boy. 

Xavier waited until they were far enough from his parents, and he is now looking at Emmanuel, his arms crossed on his chest. 

“Go on.” sighs the President feeling nothing good about the incoming question. 

“I have seen how you sometimes look at my father when you think no one sees you, Emmanuel. Are you bisexual ?”

Emmanuel’s jaw drops and he needs a few seconds to remember how to breathe. The young teen is still looking straight at him, waiting for an answer. Emmanuel is torn between his desire to be honest, and his instinct dictating him to lie to protect his relationship with Justin. He nervously passes a hand through his hair and sighs. Honesty is always better than lying. Always. 

“You are asking very mature questions for your age, Xavier.” says the President “And I’m not really sure we’re supposed to be discussing that kind of topics. But since you asked, and I know your parents educated you well, yes, I am bisexual. But if you don’t mind, I’d rather this stays between you and me.” 

“Does my father know ?”

“He does.” concedes the French with a timid smile “Not that it should concern him very much though, you know that, right ?”

“Of course.” brushes off Xavier “ELLA !” he calls having spotted her next to the fountain “Time to go !” 

“Oh. Already ?” she answers “I’m coming.” 

The French President hides his nervosity by proposing candies to the little girl as well and making her promise to not tell her parents they snacked on sweets or Justin will kill him. He then leads the way back to the terrace, still puzzled by the question asked by Xavier. If he was obvious enough for the teenager to pick up his attraction for Justin, maybe he needs to be more careful, so that other people don’t pick that up either. The Canadians get their kids back, and it is time for them all to say goodbye to their friends. Elise has found her way back to the arms of Brigitte, and she’s starting to drift off to sleep too. Emmanuel starts by shaking hands with Xavier, a look of mutual understanding between them, and he kisses Ella-Grace on the cheeks. 

“Thank you for this evening, Emmanuel,” says Sophie to him as he kisses her on the cheek “it’s been a pleasure to be in France. And I know that Justin has been very pleased to spend time with you. And I’ve been delighted to get to know you and Brigitte a bit more.” 

“A shared pleasure, really.” says Emmanuel in response “And I can’t wait to have you both back for the G7. The South of France is equally beautiful, you’ll see.” 

“I can’t wait !” she laughs.

Emmanuel gives a gentle stroke on the back of Hadrien’s head, now sound asleep in his mother’s arms, and Justin pulls him into a hug. Emmanuel takes advantage of this embrace to slip in his ear : 

“We need to talk about Xavier. Keep your phone nearby tonight.” 

They pull out of each other’s arms, and smile at each other. 

“See you in August ?” jokes the Canadian. 

“See you in August.” answers the French with a chuckle “Thanks for coming, tonight has been really great.” 

Brigitte has said good-bye to everyone and she goes back inside the Palace to put Elise to bed while Emmanuel accompanies their guest back to the car. He nods at Bart, the faithful bodyguard who kept an eye on them from afar, and watches Justin strap Hadrien to a car seat. 

“Just a minute.” says the Canadian to his wife, and kids “I need just a minute.” 

Justin closes the rear door of the car, and approaches Emmanuel. Both of them are alone, but they walk further away, in the fear of being heard. The words whispered by his friend in his ear made their way to his brain, and he needs explanations now. Not later. 

“What about Xavier ?” he whispers. 

“He busted me as being bi.” explains his boyfriend “He knows you aren’t, but we need to be careful.” 

“How do you know ?”

“He asked.” 

“And you didn’t deny ?”

“I wasn’t comfortable in lying to him, Justin. Not with that kind of things.” 

“You are such… an idiot.” sighs the Canadian “An adorable idiot, but God, that was stupid.” 

“He’s not supposed to tell anyone, though.” 

“Fine. Anything else I’m supposed to know before I go ?” 

“I’m going to miss you.” mutters the French. 

“You know this is the same for me.” smiles the Canadian “But I have to go. They are waiting for me.” 

“Yes. Go.” 

Justin very discreetly takes Emmanuel’s hand for a second and this brief touch makes them both smile. They don’t need more to communicate. Justin gets back to his family and climbs into the car. He closes the door and Emmanuel stays there, watching the car go through the portal and into the Parisian night. He stays standing there for quite a long time, reflecting on the evening they spent, and he jumps in scare when his wife’s hand finds his own. 

“Elise and Aurèle are sleeping.” she says “But we don’t have to go to bed just now if you don’t want to. The table is being cleared, and I brought you a jacket, in case you want to stay outside.” 

“What did I do to deserve a wife like you ?” grins the President turning to her and kissing her with passion “Would you stay with me for a while ?”

“Of course. And for the record, I am very happy by the way the dinner went. And Sophie was happy to be sharing this moment with us. And Justin’s children like you, that’s for certain… You have to explain me, by the way, how you can be so close to Xavier…” 

Emmanuel intertwines fingers with her, and they walk back to the terrace, and sit together to talk through the night about this and that. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So guys, what did you think of this chapter ? 
> 
> Emmanuel being all nervous about how the evening is going to go ? Grandpa Emmanuel taking care of his grandchildren ? How he greets the Trudeaus ? His walk/talk with Justin in the park ? Emmanuel having arranged for Justin and his family to be able to visit the Eiffel Tower alone ? Justin being a bit worried about his children growing up ? Emmanuel having real interest for Justin's son ? The piano scene ? Justin slipping about Emmanuel "playing for him" ? The "let it go" song ? The dinner ? Emmanuel managing to appreciate Sophie a bit better ? Justin and Emmanuel sneaking out because they can't wait any longer to be with each other ? Emmanuel being a bit obvious in front of the cook ? Emmanuel asking to talk with Xavier ? Them snacking on sweets ? Xavier's very brutal and honest question to Emmanuel ? Manu being unable to lie ? Justin and Emmanuel having a hard time saying goodbye to each other ? Justin staying a bit longer to know what is going on with Xavier ? Emmanuel telling the truth to his boyfriend ? 
> 
> How do you think the G7 will go ? Drama or no drama ?


	23. August 24th 2019 - Biarritz, France - A huge but delightful mess !

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.
> 
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 23 : Today was a fairytale - Taylor Swift
> 
> \------
> 
> So this chapter takes place during the French G7. For whatever reason, Sophie didn't attend that G7 after all...

The French President catches the glance of his boyfriend across the table and he smiles. They have been discussing the fate of the world all morning, and are in desperate need of a break. Emmanuel checks his watch and leans towards his microphone. 

“I think we did a great job together this morning. But now is time for lunch, and I know we are all starving. So let’s try to be back here in an hour, okay ?” 

They all agree and the session is dismissed. He arranged with Justin for them to have lunch together, alone, without their teams. This will probably be one of the only time during this summit they will find a way to sneak out, so they have to make it count. He knows for a fact that Donald Trump has a working lunch scheduled with Shinzo Abe, and that Boris Johnson and Angela Merkel will probably be meeting each with their own teams during lunch break. The Italian will probably hit the city center with his team, as part of his communication strategy. Justin has already vanished from the room, but the French President is the first one to arrive in the room he booked for their lunch. His security officers stayed at the door, and to feel a bit better, Emmanuel hands them his jacket to keep. His boyfriend, arriving at this moment, does the same with his bodyguard, and they both enter into the room, where their lunches have been set up, and close the door behind them. 

“Mister President.” jokes Justin placing his hand on Emmanuel’s cheek. 

“Prime Minister.” answers his lover closing the distance between their lips “May I kiss you ?”

“Oh. You’re asking permission, now ?” laughs the Canadian. 

Justin presses his mouth against the one of his partner, and Emmanuel throws his arms around the neck of his lover. They missed that. And the quick hug they shared in the morning, when Justin arrived wasn’t enough. 

“I missed that very much.” whispers Emmanuel when he pulls out of this embrace “Very much.” 

“I know. I did too.” 

Justin lets go of him and they grab a seat to actually eat their lunch. They know they don’t have time to get dirty during this extremely short lunch break, and they can’t let themselves indulge in such things in the middle of a very important international summit, no matter how much they want it. And they do want it. Emmanuel ordered sushis for them to share, but his boyfriend starts by removing his tie and opening the first three buttons of his shirt to feel more comfortable. 

“You didn’t tell me it was going to be so hot in the South of France.” he complains “This is absolutely horrendous.” 

“We got lucky, the sun is shining.” replies Emmanuel with irony “Imagine the same landscape but with heavy rain…” 

“I know for a fact that you look incredible with a soaked shirt, love.” 

Emmanuel chuckles and Justin smirks. 

“I saw the video of your morning run…” says Emmanuel avoiding the gaze of his lover. 

“And ?”

“You nearly made that poor reporter faint, Justin. And everyone thinks you are gorgeous, and sexy, and incredibly handsome.” 

“Are you jealous ?” questions Justin pausing with a sushi halfway between his plate and his mouth “Come on… You can’t possibly be jealous because of this.” 

He puts the sushi back in his plate and takes Emmanuel’s hand in his own. Jealousy. They’ve talked about this countless times, and the French president is the walking-talking example of what jealousy can look like. 

“I don’t like reading comments of teenage girls thirsting about you.” brushes off Emmanuel “That’s all.” 

“Teenage girls ? Really ?” exclaims Justin “How long did you spend on twitter, Manu’ ?”

“Way too long.” sighs the President “Brigitte literally had to snatch the phone from my hands so I could hop into shower.” 

“And she did right. And you have to learn to let go. Yes, I am running. No, I have no intention to stop. But, that body I give glimpses of, that body is only for you.” 

“And Sophie.” 

Justin sighs and shakes his head. Emmanuel’s mood went from cheeky and playful to full-on jealous and grumpy. The Canadian eats a couple more sushis thinking about how to increase his lover's mood. 

“Do you realise that you are, all by yourself, building this wall between us,” starts Justin “because of Sophie, when she is not even here ? She didn’t come with me to France, this is maybe a sign of the universe that we should take advantage of this time to try and spend as much moments as possible together.” 

“Sorry.” 

“Look at me.” 

Emmanuel doesn’t look up and the Canadian repeats, louder : 

“Emmanuel, look at me !” 

The French lifts up his blue eyes towards his boyfriend and his lover smiles at him. Justin only then says : 

“Sophie having to stay in Canada may be a sign. I, at least, want to see this as an opportunity. Give me your hand.” 

He seizes the offered hand and places it on his chest, against his heart, through the opening of his shirt. Emmanuel’s fingers are warm, and soft, and it makes the PM blush to feel this very intimate contact between them. 

“What do you feel ?”

“Your heart… Beating fast and strong.” 

“For you.” completes the Canadian “Try not to overthink everything, love. We’re here, together, my wife is not, and trust me, when I was running this morning, the only one in my mind was you.” 

“For real ?”

“Oh hell yes !” swears the Canadian “I took this weird habit of listening to you playing the piano when I run. It doesn’t really help not thinking about you.” 

“Well, I’m glad you are thinking about me.” 

They smile and exchange a tender kiss. Emmanuel remove his hand from his partner's chest, but Justin groans. He liked that, and he wants nothing else but feel Emmanuel’s hands all over him. While they keep kissing, he uses both his hands to untie Emmanuel’s tie, and drape it over the back of his chair. He then starts unbuttoning his lover’s shirt, but his boyfriend’s catches his hand and says : 

“Stop. We can’t do this here. We talked about it.” 

“Who cares ?” answers Justin “We have…” 

He checks his wristwatch, the brand-new one offered at the beginning of the summit, and grins. 

“We have thirty minutes left, which is much more than we need, really.” he says. 

“But…” 

“Tell me you don’t want it.” 

“I do, but…” 

“Shut up, for once in your life, Emmanuel !” 

The Canadian leaves no room for hesitation and he grabs Emmanuel by the collar of his shirt to pull him closer. The French opposes no resistance and crawls onto his boyfriend’s lap, surrendering completely to this passionate kiss. Thinking that they could have lunch together was an illusion. And thinking that they could spend an hour together without having sex, was an even bigger one. Justin finishes unbuttoning the shirt and let it slide down his lover’s shoulders. It ends up on the floor, and Emmanuel does exactly the same thing with Justin’s shirt, adding it to his own on the floor. The Canadian’s lips travel from his mouth to his neck and Emmanuel tilts his head on the side to give him a better access. He closes his eyes for a second, and one of his hand finds its way to the back of Justin’s head, getting tangled into his hair. 

“Hmm.” groans Trudeau “Careful with that, love.” 

“You know how much I love doing this.” protests the French President “Please…” 

“Fine. On one condition…”

“Which is ?” 

Emmanuel opens his eyes and Justin looks at him with a smile. 

“You let me take care of you. No questions, no protestations, no thinking.”

“But I get to play with your hair ?” 

“But you get to play with my hair.” 

They laugh and Justin surprises his lover by taking him by the hips and lifting him up. He sits him on the empty part of the table and answers the questioning gaze of his lover : 

“I’m taking the reins. Lie down, and enjoy.” 

He helps Emmanuel lie down on the wooden table, and he takes advantage of his position to open the buckle of his belt, and the fly of his trousers. Emmanuel is starting to get hard, and Justin caresses the growing bulge through the fabric of his underwear, making the French sigh of pleasure. He grabs the trousers of his boyfriend and lowers it, Emmanuel lifting his hips in the air in order to help him. 

“I like those underwear.” comments the Canadian stroking the silky fabric of Emmanuel’s navy trunks “Are they new ?” 

“More or less.” answers the French. 

“It feels soft.”

He grins and approaches his lips from his boyfriend’s thighs. He places his hands on Emmanuel’s knees and forces him to spread his legs. He kisses the tender skin of his boyfriend’s inner thigh and Emmanuel’s hand finds its way to the back of his head, as usual. But this time Justin doesn’t even flinch. He kisses his way up his lover’s thigh and ends up on his cock, through the fabric of his underwear. Emmanuel is moaning softly, his fist between his teeth to muffle the sound of his pleasure. Justin knows exactly what he is doing, and his tongue is expertly teasing the long hard rod on all its length. His boyfriend shows him all his appreciation by pressing gently on the back of his head with the tip of his fingers, and he exhales loudly when Justin eventually pulls down his underwear with his teeth. He plants soft kisses on his lower belly, and his nose rubs against Emmanuel’s pelvis, giving the man goosebumps. 

“I love you Emmanuel.” he whispers against his skin “I love every single inch of you…” 

He kisses along the hip bone, and ends up at the base of his lover’s penis. He cups Emmanuel’s testicles with his hand and at the same time he licks his boyfriend’s dick from base to top. Emmanuel struggles, for once, to keep silence, but he increases the grip on the back of Justin’s head, to encourage him to continue. The Canadian swirls his tongue around the glans of his partner and Emmanuel literally needs to bite on his own fist to not moan too loudly. They have a bunch of security officers just out of the door, and they can’t get busted, this would do them so much trouble. Justin uses his thumb to very carefully play with his lover’s balls and his free hand helps him keep Emmanuel pinned on the table, because the French fights him, wiggling in pleasure underneath him. 

“Try not to hurt yourself, please, love.” says Justin with a little smile. 

He then dives onto his lover’s rod with parted lips, and a strangled cry escapes the French President’s lips. Justin’s mouth is divinely obscene and he sucks his boyfriend with so much passion and devotion that Emmanuel’s brain completely disconnected from everything else. The French is overwhelmed by pleasure, and his hand is playing relentlessly with Justin’s hair, not forcing him down his cock, but thanking him for what he does to him.    
  


“Honey !” he exclaims suddenly “Honey, stop !” 

He felt pleasure rising into his whole body, and if Justin doesn’t stop now, he’s not going to be able to control himself anymore. And that is going to get messy. And Justin has never done that to him before. But the Canadian is determined to prove to his boyfriend how much they are on the same page, and how much they belong to each other. 

“Stop. Justin, please.” whines Emmanuel, not really able to hold back anymore. 

The Canadian doesn’t stop, and he keeps sucking, using his tongue to push his boyfriend over the edge. And when Emmanuel finally lets go, and comes into his mouth, and throats, he realizes his mistake. Emmanuel’s load is huge and it drips out of his lips as he has still the hard cock in his mouth. 

“Hmm.” moans Emmanuel coming back to his senses “You shouldn’t have done that, Justin.” 

But the Canadian looks at him right in the eyes, climbing atop of him on the table, and he swallows what he has in mouth, without making a fuss of it. He licks his lips to clean them, and then only kisses Emmanuel softly on the mouth. 

“Thank you.” whispers the French. 

They both check their watches at the same time and burst into laughter. They still have ten minutes : enough time for Justin to find his own release if they hurry up. 

“Hurry up.” says Emmanuel kissing him and biting his lip in the process “I can feel how much you want it.” 

“Dirty boy.” laughs the Canadian “I’ll be quick.” 

He gets back on his feet and pulls his boyfriend to the edge of the table. He opens his belt buckle, his fly, and lowers his suit trousers and underwear in one swift move, freeing his hard cock. Emmanuel crossed his arms behind his head, so he can be admiring his lover, and he watches the Canadian positions between his legs, and penetrate him, with no further notice, or warning. 

“Oh God !” exclaims Justin finally looking up to the blue eyes of his partner “This feels so good.” 

“It does.” 

Justin starts thrusting himself back and forth inside Emmanuel, his hands on the man’s hips, the French’s fingers intertwined with his own. There is so much love and passion going on between them, and they don’t need words to communicate. Emmanuel refrains his instincts urging him to move his hips upwards to feel Justin deeper, but the Canadian picked up that he was unusually in control of himself. 

“It’s okay, love.” he says “You can let go.” 

Emmanuel stops trying to control everything he does, and his hips start moving in rhythm with Justin’s back-and-forth, giving them both a lot more pleasure than they would have imagined. Justin has to really control himself to not be vocal at all, contrary to what he is used to, and Emmanuel grins to see him fully enjoying himself, but in silence. 

“I’m so close.” warns Justin closing his eyes and tilting his head backwards to focus on what he is feeling. 

He reaches orgasm with a muffled grunt a minutes later, and Emmanuel feels his sperm flow inside of him, Justin’s body tense and arched during the whole release. Panting, he reconnects with his boyfriends and leans over him to exchange a kiss with him. They are both exhausted, but over the moon to have shared that wild moment together. Justin withdraws from inside his lover and helps Emmanuel to get sitting on the table. They hear soft knocks on the door and one of Emmanuel’s bodyguard shouts through it : 

“Two minutes to go !” 

“Fuck !” swears Emmanuel looking at Justin and then at their shirts on the floor, and their trousers down their ankles “Fuck.” 

For him to swear twice in a row, the situation really has to be tricky. Justin grabs him at the waist and places him on his feet on the floor. They both pull up their underwear and trousers, buckling their belts as fast as possible. Emmanuel picks up their shirts and throws his at his boyfriend, hurrying to get into his own, his tie already around his neck. They both expertly button up the shirt, and they tie each other’s ties, making sure it looks okay, Emmanuel arranges his partner’s haircut and kisses him tenderly, when his bodyguard knocks on the door for the second time. 

“Time to go, Sir.” announces the man. 

Justin checks they haven’t forgotten anything, but it seems okay, they both come out of the room in a hurry, and rush to their security officer who have been holding onto their suit jackets. They walk back to the meeting room while finishing to arrange their outfits. Emmanuel tucks his shirt into his trousers and adjusts his tie and cuffs before grabbing his jacket to put it on. Justin does approximately the same thing, but he feels tight in his shirt, and he double checks he buttoned it properly, wondering if the problem comes from here. But everything is in order. Emmanuel is struggling to adjust his jacket on his shoulder, and Justin does not manage to properly extend his arms to put on his own. And it strikes them at the exact same time. They both look down at their white shirts and with an horrified look they look back up at each other. In their hurry to get dressed, they swapped shirts by accident. But the other head of states are probably already back, and they are late, and have no time to change again. It’ll have to do. 

“Fuck.” mutters the French President trying to think about the wisest solution. 

It is so obvious that they are not wearing their own shirts anymore. Justin feels trapped in his, and it looks like the buttons are ready to burst open at any moment now. And Emmanuel is slightly floating in his. Fuck. He gives a sorry glance to his boyfriend and grabs a bottle of water on a nearby table, much to everyone’s surprise. He leans forward, and pours the content of the bottle over his head to wet his hair. He ruffles the said hair and gets back up, throwing the empty bottle away. Turning to his security guards he says : 

“It was hot, I freshened up during the break, and I changed shirt.” 

‘Clever’ thinks Justin. At least he got his story straight. Emmanuel has vanished inside the meeting room before he himself could move, and he knows there will be questions. And deep down, the Canadian feels a bit angry that his lover left him on his own to look for a solution, when they got into this mess together. Realizing that he is now really late, and that he has got no time to run back to his car to change shirt, Justin sighs deeply, accepting the fate that looms upon his head. There will be pictures, and for certain, questions, about this very narrow shirt he is now wearing, but he needs to go back in. 

“Sir ?” asks Bart, his bodyguard “Good to go ?” 

“Not really.” brushes off Justin “But what other choice do I have ?” 

He nervously chuckles and enters into the meeting room where the other head of states are waiting for him. Immediately, all heads turn to him. 

“I’m sorry.” he apologizes, clearing his throat “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.” 

He adds his most charming smile to the end of his sentence but he saw Angela Merkel eying his shirt at least twice already, and Shinzo Abe looked at him strangely as well. Justin sits down and avoids looking at Emmanuel who is busy arranging his notes into a neat pile. They avoid looking at each other for the next hour, but they both know that it hasn’t gone unnoticed. And as soon as Emmanuel call for the next break, Justin tries to escape to get a chance to grab a clean, size-appropriate shirt, but he gets cornered by Giuseppe Conte : 

“What happened to you, Justin ?” jokes the Italian “Have you been holding secrets meeting during the previous break ?” 

“I.. Hmm..” 

Justin nervously scratches the back of his head. He noticed at least two journalists eying them very suspiciously. 

“I don’t see what you’re talking about.” eventually brushes off the Canadian taking his counterpart by the shoulder to walk with him towards the exit “Who else noticed ?” he adds on a more confidential tone once they are out of reach for curious ears. 

“Everyone.” answers Conte “That shirt is way too small for you. Where did you get it ?” 

“I did with what I had on hand.” 

From what Justin understands, he got busted for wearing a shirt too small for him. But Emmanuel, despite having changed shirt didn’t get busted on his being a size too big. Which is probably for the best. Justin spots his bodyguard next to the door of the men’s bathroom further along the corridor, a clean white shirt folded over his arm, for Justin to change into. 

“Actually,” says Justin to his Italian counterpart “I need to change that shirt.” 

He winks at him and hurries to join his bodyguard. 

“Thank you so much Bart.” he says “That damn shirt is way too small.” 

“You’ll thank me later.” indicates the security officer “Get changed.” 

Justin gets inside the bathroom and changes shirt for the second time of the day. Of course that one fits him much better, and when he gets out, he feels much more at ease in his outfit. He gets back out and hands out the dirty shirt back to Bart. 

“Could you ensure it gets back to the hands of its rightful owner ?” whispers the Canadian 

“I’ll make sure of it.” says the officer “Could I do anything else for you ?”

“Are there pictures online already ?”

“Yes.” nods Bart. 

“Is it bad ?”

“Same as usual.” brushes off the security guard. 

“Thank you so much, Bart.”

“You said that already. And you should go back, there’s someone waiting for you.” 

Indeed, Emmanuel is pacing back and forth not far from them, nervously fidgeting, and constantly looking that no one is approaching. Justin nods at his officer and joins his boyfriend. 

“I’m sorry.” says Emmanuel immediately “But we couldn’t get into trouble together, I hope you do understand.” 

“It’s fine.” answers Justin sharply “Did anyone grill you about your shirt change ?”

“No one. They all assumed I changed because of sweat or something.” 

“Lucky you.” 

“I’m still going to be in trouble.” says Emmanuel after a few seconds. 

He bites his lip and explains : 

“Brigitte joins me here directly after the meeting, and I had not planned on changing clothes before tonight’s dinner. Which mean I’ll have to wear your shirt all night long.” 

“Oh. Do you think she will notice ?” 

Emmanuel turns to him and shakes his head. Of course she will notice. This shirt is not fitting Emmanuel the way it should, and it smells like the Canadian bodywash, which is something she won’t be able to ignore. And if she saw the pictures of the afternoon meeting, she’ll have seen Justin’s shirt, and she’ll have understood exactly what happened between them. 

“We’re fucked, aren’t we ?”

“Let’s say I’m glad your wife isn’t here.” concludes Emmanuel opening the meeting room door to let Justin come back in “But yes, we are.” 

The seven world leaders discuss the fate of the world for one hour and a half before Emmanuel dismisses the gathering for the day. They are expected to all attend a gala dinner, with their partners, later tonight, and they all leave to go back to their hotels and change. All but the French president who stays in the meeting room for a while longer, reviewing his notes, and talking to the press for half-an-hour. He is then brought to a smaller, most intimate room, by his team, and he lets himself down on a couch, worn out by his day, and terribly nervous about what’s going to happen. It’s going to get messy. 

“Sir ?” asks one of his assistants “Do you want something ? Drink ? Snack ? We can have someone in to help you fix your hair or…” 

“My hair ? What’s wrong with my hair ?” exclaims Emmanuel with a bit of amusement in the voice. 

“It needs to be fixed.” answers his assistant “Can I send someone in ?” 

“Sure.” 

Less than five minute later, a hairdresser is taking care of fixing Emmanuel’s hairstyle, so it looks appropriate for the gala dinner they have tonight. He messed it up quite a lot with the water earlier in the afternoon, but with a few brushstrokes, and a quick hairspray fix it looks much better. Brigitte Macron arrives at this moment and she chastly, more by habit than real desire plants a soft kiss on Emmanuel’s lips, and sits on the couch while the team around them gather their belongings to leave them alone. 

“We’ll need to be going in ten minutes.” indicates the President’s assistant “To greet the guests.” 

“We’ll be ready.” smiles Emmanuel “Thank you.” 

The assistant closes the door and Emmanuel turns to his wife. She is wearing a white and silver dress and she looks stunning like always. He reaches for her hand and says : 

“You look incredible, darling.” 

“Don’t.” she sharply answers, removing her hand from the one of her husband. “Not after what you did today. I know exactly what happened, and I feel ashamed. Ashamed of you.” 

She gets up and resolutely turns her back to him. He stays seated and fights his instinct to take her into his arms. 

“I’m sorry, Brigitte, I really am.”

“Shut up.” she says “I know that you have sometimes fooled around during our marriage, and I have agreed on looking the other way, because I know you have a high-sexual drive, and that it means nothing to you but sex. But I didn’t think you’d make a fool of yourself in an international meeting. What were you thinking ?”

She is really pissed and Emmanuel understands it’s not worth discussing it further. It would only make things worse, and they are already terrible. So he shuts up, and accepts her wrath. He deserved it. Justin and him have been reckless, and they indeed, made fools of themselves, and they took the risk of exposing their relationship to the whole world. 

“You really couldn’t wait to fuck him ?” she asks, this time looking him straight in the eyes. 

“It’s... complicated.” 

“You know what ? I don’t even want to know. You just… you shut up, and we pretend that you are not wearing his damn shirt.” 

“Do you want me to change ?” 

“You don’t have time to change anymore, Emmanuel. And you two have done enough swapping shirts today, don’t you think ?”

His husband can’t help but chuckle and she actually smiles just a little. She’s still pissed at him, not for cheating, because she knew that would happen, or that had already happened, but because of the recklessness of her husband. 

“Time to go !” announces one of Emmanuel’s security officers knocking on the door. 

“We’re coming.” answers Brigitte.

Emmanuel gets up and hesitates on taking her hand. Will she reject him ? Probably. He did more wrong than good to her today, and he doesn’t deserve the kindness with which she’s been treating him. They both go out, one after the other, and walk out of the facility, to greet their guests on the outside, before the gala dinner. They both act as if everything was good between them, but Emmanuel lacks touching her, or simply holding her hand. He’ll make it up to her, later. It becomes really awkward when Justin’s car pulls over in front of them. They exchange a glance, and Emmanuel stays right beside Brigitte, not taking any step forward to greet his boyfriend. They hug each other nonetheless, as usual, and the Canadian whispers in his partner's ear : 

“All good ?” 

“More or less. She could use an apology.” whispers Emmanuel back to him. 

Justin then kisses Brigitte on both cheeks, and he says to her, softly, so that none of the journalists, kept at bay from them, can pick that up : 

“I’m sorry about what happened today.” 

“You looked worse than my husband with your shirt.” she answers “And you’re the one going to get in trouble, won’t you ?” 

He doesn’t get the chance to answer, as they have to pose for the photographers and he then has to go join the other guests. But Brigitte is right, he got the chance to check Twitter in the car, and his shirt mishap of the afternoon didn’t go unnoticed. And he hasn’t managed to reach Sophie yet. Which probably means nothing, but he can’t help but feel like this is bad news. He is still reflecting on this when they pose for the official photographs of the head of states, and when they are brought to the table for dinner. 

“I have to say,” laughs Donald Trump letting himself heavily down on the chair next to him “that I still haven’t understood what this whole style of yours means, Justin. How many different shirts did you wear today ?” 

“That’s at least the fourth.” indicates Giuseppe Conte who took his seat in front of Justin. 

This dinner is going to be a nightmare. The Canadian discreetly checks his phone, but his wife still hasn’t contacted him, and it starts to worry him a lot more. 

“The weather here is really hot.” says Justin as a matter of explanation “I hadn’t anticipated this. But thankfully, I always have clean shirts in my car.” 

The Italian Prime Minister gives him an unconvinced glance, but doesn’t dwell further on the question. Emmanuel is seated way further at the table, amongst the special guests of their dinner, mostly African leaders, but Justin feels lonely here. He knows exactly why Emmanuel placed him here, and that his diplomacy skills are required, to try and subdue their American counterpart into agreeing on the international stakes they discussed in the afternoon. But first, they have to listen to Emmanuel’s welcome speech, that they all hope will be short. The French President got up, and he waits for silence before talking : 

“Thank you all for your presence tonight in Biarritz, for this dinner. We have been discussing, with my friends of the G7, today, in here, but I hope that this evening allows up to strengthen international relationships and discussions. More than ever, our world is in need of a new style of leadership : bold, daring, open to environmental and gender equality issues. I know that all of us around this table have different views and opinions, but I have always thought that talking around a good meal could help put things in perspective. My friends, it is with a great pleasure that Brigitte and I welcome you here tonight in France, and we wish you to spend a splendid evening.” 

He raises his glass, and they all do the same. He gives a quick look to his boyfriend, and then sits back down next to his wife, who he kisses dearly. Justin feels ashamed for Brigitte, and he doesn’t understand how she hasn’t ruined them both already. She should have destroyed them. But instead of that, she is smiling, acting with Emmanuel as if nothing happened, and she even seemed genuinely friendly with him earlier. It is something he needs to sort out. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and discreetly types a text for Emmanuel under the table : 

**_What is going on with Brigitte ? Why isn’t she hating us ? Shouldn’t she be hating me at least ? What did you say to her ?_ **

Much to his surprise, he gets an answer less than ten minutes later. 

**_Brigitte knows we had sex. But she still thinks it’s just sex, nothing more. She is acting like she always did during our marriage, looking the other way. I am not a good man, and I haven’t always been faithful to her, so this is no surprise. She can excuse sex once in a while, but she would never forgive the kind of relationship we have._ **

It gives a little bit of reassurance to Justin. He feels at least better enough to last the whole dinner, to discuss gender equality with Trump without losing patience. He is helped by his Italian friend, and several other head of states, but the American is definitely not the one to talk about these issues, and this despite Melania seated next to him in her gorgeous red dress. By the end of the dinner, Emmanuel is seen wandering around the table, exchanging jokes and good words with the guests, and when he arrives by his boyfriend, he puts his hand over Justin’s shoulder and asks : 

“Can I talk to you for a minute, Justin ?” 

“Sure.” answers the Canadian, too happy to escape his neighbour. 

They walk away, their cups of coffee in hand, and when they are far enough from curious ears, the French President asks : 

“Is everything alright ? You seem a bit off…”

“Sophie hasn’t answered any of my calls. Or my texts.” nervously answers Justin “And with her, silence can be worse than anger I’m afraid. The whole internet has been buzzing about my shirt…” 

“Do you think she knows ?”

“She knows I had to change shirt in a hurry.” explains Justin with a sigh “But she must wonder what happened. And with her jealousy…” 

“See, I’m not the only one.” laughs Emmanuel raising an eyebrow. 

“Now is not a good time to brag, Manu’.” answers his boyfriend smiling nonetheless “And you have some explaining to do too.” 

“About ?”

“Unfaithfulness.” drops the Canadian. 

“A few one night things. Nothing of importance really. It was years ago, before Brigitte and I even got married. I was young, I was a student, I was exploring my sexuality, I needed to feel what it was to… do it with a man you know… She pretended it never happened.” 

“Still, she should hate me.” 

“But she doesn’t. Let’s be glad of that for tonight. Today was a huge but delightful mess, and tomorrow will be a far different day.” 

“It’s true. I’ll be divorced.” 

“Don’t say that. Sophie can’t possibly imagine divorcing you for a change of shirt. Tell her you spilled your beer on it or something. Or sweat. It worked with all the other head of states, why not your wife ?” 

“Because she knows it’s not the truth ?” suggests the Canadian “I don’t sweat enough to need a change of shirt in the middle of the day, Emmanuel. And I would have gone back to my car, to pick up one of my shirts, one that was fitting me properly.” 

“You’ll find something, I’m sure.” says Emmanuel placing his hand on his boyfriend’s arm. 

“If she agrees on talking to me.” concludes Justin bitterly. 

They come back to the table, and Justin finds an excuse to leave not soon after, this time really worried to not be able to reach his wife. He is in for some deep trouble. He waits until he is back in his hotel room and tries for the, at least, twentieth time of the day to call her, and this time she picks up. 

“Hello.” he says carefully, not sure if he should sound worried or happy. 

“Good… evening.” she answers remembering the time difference between France and Canada. 

“I had been worried, Soph’. How are you ?”

“Uncertain on whether you should come home at the end of the week…” 

Justin’s mouth went dry and he quickly loosen up his tie to breathe better. Sophie is pissed, and this fight is going to be nasty. 

“Sophie, I…” he starts. 

“You what ? Don’t tell me you have any legitimate explanation for wearing a shirt that is obviously not yours in an international meeting.” 

“I didn’t have time to get back to the car and…” 

“Didn’t have time after what ? Fucking a prostitute ? Your assistant ? A journalist ? Where did it happen ? In the bathroom ? In a hotel room ? Or did you fuck her while you had your lunch…” 

“Sophie, this is not at all what happened.” he says calmly, trying to control the shaking in his hands “I didn’t fuck anyone.” 

“Then what happened to your shirt ?” 

“I stained it. During lunch.” 

“And none of your assistants could get you a clean one ?” 

She’s extremely good at finding loopholes. Even if he stained it during his lunch break, they still would have found time to find him a clean one. But suddenly, an idea emerges in the back of his brain. It’s wicked, and twisted, but it could work. 

“Look Sophie,” he says nervously “You were not supposed to know but... It’s not me, it’s Emmanuel. He met with someone, it was not really planned but his shirt was slightly stained and it smelled like this other person. I did what any best friend would do, we swapped shirts because he was supposed to meet with his wife later on, and I knew I had a clean one in the car. But I hadn’t realized we were so short on time, and I didn’t get time to get back to the car.” 

“Oh so you are protecting your best friend when he cheats on his wife ? What about your moral standards, Justin ? What about Brigitte ? Have you thought about her ? She’s our friend for goddamn’s sake !” she screams, jumping with both feet into his lie. 

“Sophie,” sighs Justin relieved that she’s buying it “you know this is none of my business, nor yours. I told Emmanuel this was insane and completely unfair, but he is my best friend, what else could I do ?” 

“Not protect him ?” suggests his wife “Let him get himself into trouble for his actions ? Let him get busted for cheating on his wife ? Not swapping shirts with him ? Good lord, you two are not even the same size !” 

“Yeah, that’s a problem I hadn’t anticipated !” answers Justin “How could I know he wears shirts that are so… slim ?” 

“Come on, Justin, you of all people should have noticed he gets his shirts tailored.” 

“I hadn’t. But now I know.” 

“And the whole world knows. And you are a fucking idiot. Protecting a bastard… I can’t believe he would do that to Brigitte… They are so in love…” 

“It’s purely sexual.” says Justin trying to find excuses for Emmanuel, and trying to have his wife not completely hating him “And I’m not certain that Brigitte would mind. But as I said, it’s absolutely none of our business…” 

“Sexual or not, he is CHEATING.” 

Justin waits a few seconds and then says : 

“I don’t care about what he does behind closed doors. He is my friend, and he needed my help.” 

“You’re a fucking moron.” 

She hangs up on him and he tries to call her back but she does not pick up his call. He decides on taking his shower, and before going to bed he sends a text to his wife. 

**_I don’t ask you to understand, but I wasn’t going to let Emmanuel down when he needed me. That was an impulsive reaction, and I’m sorry if it triggered anything bad in you. I’ll make sure to wear the same shirt tomorrow, from morning to evening and everything will be fine. Please tell the kids I love them, and I miss them. I miss you too._ **

He doesn’t wait for her answer, he’s not in the mood for another fight tonight. But instead, he sends a quick text to his lover. 

**_It’s going to be okay with Sophie. I had a fantastic day today, thank you for it. I wouldn’t change any single part of it. I hope you managed to get your shirt back somehow, you can hold on to mine if you want, I don’t mind._ ** **_  
_ ** **_Have a great night. I love you._ **

He drops his phone on his nightstand after setting an alarm for early morning and falls asleep almost instantly as soon as his head hits the pillow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooooooo...... A lot of surprises, huh ? 
> 
> As usual, the questions below are here to help you for your comment, but by all means, you don't have to use them (or use them all) : Emmanuel and Justin having planned to meet for lunch alone ? How they kiss sweetly ? Eating but no sex ? Emmanuel being really jealous of the people thirsting over his boyfriend online ? How Justin proves him wrong ? Justin making things go dirty ? The deal about "I can touch your hair but I have to not be in control" ? How Justin pleases his boyfriend all the way through ? How Emmanuel helps him find his pleasure afterwards ? How they are brought back to reality quickly ? Them dressing back up in a hurry ? The horrendous realization that they swapped shirts ? How Emmanuel saves himself and leaves Justin with his own mess ? The very-much-welcomed break ? Giuseppe busting Justin on his sirt ? Bart helping Justin ? Emmanuel apologizing to his boyfriend but explaining that they are screwed ? Emmanuel's anxiety about his reunion with his wife ? The hair fixing ? Brigitte's reaction ? Emmanuel's guilt ? How they go out to greet their guests ? The awkwardness of greeting Justin ? Brigitte's words to Justin ? Justin's worries about not being able to reach his wife ? Trump making fun of Justin ? The dinner ? Emmanuel and Justin texting about the situation ? Them talking apart at the end of the dinner ? Emmanuel admitting he has not always been faithful to Brigitte ? Justin explaining that Sophie is probably pissed at him ? Justin's discussion with his wife ? How he manages to lie to her ? The two lasts texts Justin sends before going to bed and the contrast between them ? 
> 
> What do you think can happen next ?


	24. October 6th 2019 - Paris, France - Like an epiphany, finally !

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.
> 
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 24 : Tomorrow - Mika 

“Good afternoon.” says Edouard Philippe entering into the room and closing the door behind him. 

He frowns to see his friend wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and the President says to him : 

“Don’t sit. We’re not having our meeting here. Let me just grab a towel and we’re out.” 

Emmanuel fetches a towel in his desk drawer, and he shakes hands with his Prime Minister, who has not moved an inch since he came in the office. He grabs his water bottle, his cell phone, and leads the way out. It’s not the first time Emmanuel will exercise while working with him, but he usually warns him beforehand. 

“Did something happen ?” asks Edouard as they walk down to the training room. 

“A jar of maple syrup, and a binging on candies while I was working on Trump’s latest nonsense.” brushes off Emmanuel “Just the usual, in short.” 

They both laugh, and the President opens the door of the room in which he had a treadmill installed, alongside a desk, so he can hold meetings with his Prime Minister while running. Edouard takes his seat, opening his notepad in front of him, and looking for his pen in the inside pocket of his suit jacket. Emmanuel drops his phone in front of his Minister, in case it rings and he steps onto the treadmill. He launches his usual program and starts running. 

“What do we have to talk about ?” asks the French President. 

“The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, mainly,” answers Edouard “I got a detailed report on what he intends to do with his country. And the usual with protests here in France, and the first draft of the retirement law.” 

“Go on. I’m listening… Let’s start with our dear friend Boris.” 

Edouard is explaining the general orientation of the future British administration when Emmanuel’s phone starts buzzing right under his nose. He gives a quick glance at it and indicates : 

“Justin.” 

His mind hasn’t pieced yet who the caller is. 

“Take him, and put him through speaker. Please.” says the President. 

Edouard does what he is asked and it only clicks into his brain when he recognizes the unmistakable accent. Justin. Justin Trudeau. The Prime Minister of Canada. 

“Hello.” says Justin “Am I disturbing ?” 

“Never,” smiles Emmanuel “but I’m not alone.” 

“Oh. Hmm…” hesitates the Canadian suddenly not so sure he should have called. 

“Good morning, Prime Minister.” says Edouard Philippe making himself heard. 

“Oh. Good afternoon Mister Philippe.” answers Justin familiar with the voice and tone “I’ll call you back later, Emmanuel, I guess you two are working.” 

“We are.” nods the French President still running on his treadmill “But I can take five minutes to speak with you, if you want.” 

“Why are you short of breath ?” asks Justin with concern.

“He’s exercising.” chuckles Edouard Philippe “While discussing the most pressing national, and international matters with me.” 

“That’s crazy.” comments the Canadian.

“It’s called time management, Justin.” harshly replies Emmanuel “I don’t have time for both meetings and exercise. Especially after receiving a shipment of maple syrup from Canada.” 

“You work too much.” replies his boyfriend.

“And you too little.” jokes Emmanuel “Are you at your office ?”

“In the car,” indicates Justin “I have the inaugural ceremony of a brand new hospital this morning.”

“Interesting.” comments Emmanuel.

Edouard Philippe is both amused and embarrassed to witness this back and forth between the two men. Of course he knew the two of them were best friends, and he saw them interact before, but it was always surprising to see with how much ease they were responding to each other. Unless there was something else going on ? Emmanuel is grinning from ear to ear. He thought about this moment, he knew this would come, he knew he would, at one point, have to include Edouard into the secret. And he knows he can trust his friend for keeping it. And they discussed it with Justin, who agrees it is high-time to let the French prime Minister know. 

“Did you want something in particular ?” asks the French President to his lover. 

“Remember that declaration we decided ourselves on yesterday, the one about North Korea tensions ?” 

“Of course.” 

“I was thinking that instead of each signing a resolution, we should try and gather as many world leaders as possible and sign a text together. I discussed it with Boris already and…”

“Johnson ?” questions the French Prime Minister jumping into the conversation.

“Yes” confirms Justin “Boris is on board, and I have other contacts from Commonwealth leaders. Emmanuel, your team could contact your allies on the European side, and we see how many signatures we can get.”

“You are a genius, darling !” exclaims the French president “I'll have my team call yours this afternoon to arrange for that !” 

Edouard coughed at the name calling, it was unexpected, and he feels oddly out of place at the moment. This was supposed to be a private conversation. Maybe he should give them a couple of minutes… Intimacy. He is ready to stand up and leave the room but the President gestures him to stay. And this is a gesture that leaves no room for discussion. 

“Are you free in the evening Justin ?” asks the French

“Ella has her ice-skating gala, love.” answers the Canadian 

“Oh, right.” 

“But you can call me between seven thirty and eight if you want.” 

“I’ll write that in my agenda.” smiles the President “Talk to you later then, I love you.” 

“Love you too.” shyly answers the Canadian PM before hanging up. 

Edouard stares at his friend for two long minutes without saying a word, a bit too shocked to really process what he heard. He knew of course, like everybody, that the men were extra-close, much more than they were supposed to be, but this goes beyond everything he could have imagined. And part of his brain is processing the pieces of the puzzle that he failed to pick along the way. And everything starts to make much more sense now. 

“Where were we ?” asks the President trying to shift back the focus of his Prime Minister on what they were discussing before.

“I have a hundred of questions right now, Emmanuel. I need time to process.” 

“As if you didn't know already.” jokes his friend in response.

“Suspecting and knowing are two very different things.” 

His train of thoughts is interrupted by a text message popping up on the President's phone screen. He lowers his eyes to the screen and reads :

“Justin wants to know what you are wearing for training” he says with an half-amused smile. 

“Unlock the phone, the code is my election date, full year, and send him a picture as a response, please. Then we can discuss this. And finish working.” 

Edouard reluctantly enters in this game, and unlocks his friends phone. The picture of Emmanuel kissing Brigitte as screen wallpaper makes him cringe a little but he opens the texts and takes a picture of his President, still on the treadmill, thumbs up, and sends it to Canada. He then turns the phone, screen down, on the desk and engages into a very serious conversation with his friend : 

“Does your wife know ?”

“No.” answers Emmanuel too quickly “Not really,” he corrects himself after a while “she knows that Justin and I fooled around, that we had sex, but she doesn’t know how much involved we are.” 

“Oh so you had… OH !” exclaims the Prime Minister “The shirt mishaps ! At the G7 ! That’s what happened, right ?” 

“Yes.” laughs Emmanuel “The infamous shirt mishap… We dressed in a hurry and we swapped shirts by accident. That’s how Brigitte got confirmation that we truly did it. But Justin got in real trouble with his wife…” 

“I can imagine. I thought he was straight.”

“It’s complicated. He is, most of the time…”

“And how long has this thing between you two going on ?” 

“Almost since we met.” explains Emmanuel “We fell for each other immediately, but it took us a few months to act on it. And we’ve been together ever since.” 

“This is completely insane, Emmanuel.”

Edouard Philippe shakes his head and Emmanuel who finished his running session steps out of the treadmill and wipes his face off with the towel he brought. He comes closer to his Prime Minister and sits on the edge of the desk. 

“Of course,” he says “I trust you to keep that a secret.” 

“I’m going to disclose that at the Assembly.” jokes the PM with a smirk “But are you really sure this is a wise thing to pursue ? As your friend, I must say this seems quite ill-advised to be having an affair, no matter how charming the Canadian might be…” 

“Don’t worry. I can handle it, you have to trust me.”

“Only if you don’t swap shirts by accident.” ironically says Edouard. 

“It won’t happen again.” laughs Emmanuel “Let’s get back to work now.” 

  
  


Later that day, in the darkness of his office, Emmanuel calls his boyfriend via video, at the planned time. Justin picks up the call almost instantly and immediately makes a sign to his boyfriend instructing him to keep silence for a minute. The Canadian moves and isolates himself in a quieter room and only then he sighs and says : 

“Sorry. I was with Ella-Grace to help her prepare for her gala. Tonight is hectic. How are you ?”

“I’m tired. What about you ?” 

“Tired. But excited for my daughter…” 

“I know. I can see that. You have that sparkle in your eyes, it’s adorable. You’ll wish her good luck, from me.”

“I will. What did Edouard Philippe say about us ?”

“He’s… doubtful.” admits the French President “He thinks this is silly and that I am making a mistake, but of course he won’t say a word. So our secret’s safe…” 

“I wasn’t worried about our secret.” says the Canadian.

Emmanuel frowns and asks : 

“What were you worried about, then ?” 

“Competition.” answers Justin between his teeth.

“I’m sorry. Can you repeat that ?” laughs Emmanuel completely flabbergasted.

“Well, you two are close, and he seems to be interested in you…” 

“You can’t be serious.” answers his boyfriend mildly concerned now. 

“Hardly.” admits Justin with a smirk “But I’m glad he’s no competition.” 

“Trust me, you have nothing to fear on that point. He’s as straight as a plank. But he’s worried that we get busted at one point or another.” 

“Can we really blame him ?” reacts Justin “We got so close from getting discovered more than once. We have to be careful.” 

“More than once ?”

“Us fighting in the bathroom of the United Nations wasn’t the smartest moves of all, then there was the lost socks episode, and the shirt mishap… We really need to be careful, love.” 

“We will, honey. We will be careful, I swear.” 

“DAAAD !” screams Ella-Grace bursting into the room unannounced “We have to go !” 

She pauses, looks at her father, then at the screen of the phone he holds in his hand and she tilts her head on the side to see with whom he’s talking. 

“Oh. Hi, Emmanuel !” she says “I’m sorry, we have to go, I have my ice-skating gala tonight.” 

“I know,” answers the French President “your Dad told me. Good luck with that, Ella.” 

“I’ll be here in a minute, sweetheart.” says Justin to his daughter “I promise.” 

He kisses her on the cheek and she goes away, closing the door behind her. Justin focuses back on his boyfriend. 

“Hectic, as I told you.” he chuckles “Basketball is much easier to get ready for.” 

“You should get going, Justin. We’ll talk again tomorrow.” 

“For sure.”

“And send me pictures of Ella on the ice, please !” 

“I will ! Good night, Emmanuel. I’m glad you could finally tell Edouard about us. I know that lying to him was beginning to be a burden.”

“Good evening, Justin. I love you.” 

They hang up and Justin pockets his phone before joining his family who’s already waiting for him. His daughter hands him his coat and he grabs a scarf before letting everyone out. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ? Finally, huh ? 
> 
> As usual, the questions are just an indication on points you can comment, but feel free to comment as you like, I answer all comments, no matter how short or long :D 
> 
> Emmanuel greeting Edouard in his sport clothes ? Them working over Emmanuel exercizing ? The reason for Emmanuel needing to run ? Justin interrupting ? How Edouard realizes who the caller is ? How naively he is listening to the conversation ? Emmanuel and Justin's conversation ? The name calling in front of Edouard and Justin and Emmanuel revealing that way that they are together ? Edouard wanting to leave but Emmanuel instructing him to stay ? Justin wanting to know about the outfit of his boyfriend ? Edouard questionning his friend about the relationship he has with Justin ? His doubts ? Justin and Emmanuel's call in the evening ? Justin's jealousy about Edouard ? Emmanuel realizing they need to be more careful ? Ella-Grace interrupting them ? 
> 
> What do you expect for the following chapters ?


	25. October 21st 2019 - Ottawa, Canada - A night to remember

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.
> 
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 25 : Believer - Imagine Dragons (acoustic version) 

“Dad, what if you don’t win ?” asks Hadrien. 

“Then we’ll congratulate Andrew, because he’ll be the new Prime Minister, and we’ll go back home to pack our stuff. But don’t worry, Didi, I have a good feeling about tonight.” answers Justin with a bright smile. 

He feels confident about this election. It should be tight, but if everything goes according to the last polls, he should still be Prime Minister at the end of the evening. His son is less convinced and he pouts, glancing at the TV. 

“Look,” explains Justin “you see the red bar at the bottom ?” 

Hadrien nods and Justin continues : 

“That is the number of seats of the Liberal party. My party, our party. As long as it is bigger than the other ones, I stay Prime Minister. And trust me, it will stay bigger.” 

Their whole family is gathered, in a private suite of an hotel to watch the election results. Justin’s speech is prepared already, and he will deliver it later, once the victory is certain. His phone buzzes in his jeans pocket and he draws it out to read the text he just received. 

**_How is it going ? I’m worried. Let me know please._ **

It’s Emmanuel, worried sick about the election results, when he should be sleeping, given the hour in France. This is already the third text of the evening, and it makes Justin sigh. 

“A problem ?” asks Sophie. 

“No.” answers Justin quickly “People are worried, that’s all.”

He quickly types an answer for his boyfriend, and sends it, hoping to calm him down. 

**_For Christ’s sake, Manu you need to cool down. I am, and still will be the PM of this country by this evening. Now please go to bed, you don’t have to stay up all night for me. Everything is going to be okay._ **

He adds a heart emoji before sending it, and puts his phone back in his pocket. Knocks can be heard on the door of the room and Justin shouts : 

“Enter !” 

“Sir,” starts his assistant stepping inside the room “are we good for some pictures and video ?” 

“No more than ten minutes.” warns Sophie “The kids are exhausted.” 

“Let them in.” adds Justin. 

They gladly allow some of the press to take pictures and little video clips of them watching the electoral results, Hadrien on his father’s knees, Ella-Grace sitting with Sophie, Xavier next to them. As soon as the press is out of the room, Justin’s assistant comes back to see him. 

“How are you feeling ?” she asks 

“Confident.” he answers “But tired. At what time do we plan on speaking ?” 

“In about an hour, if that’s okay for you. We should have most of the results by then, and be fairly certain of the overall victory.” 

“Sounds like a good plan. Has my mother arrived ?” 

“Not yet, but I’ll let her in as soon as she’s here.” 

“Thank you.” 

Justin had asked his mother to be there, because she’s one of the most important person in his life. And also because he wanted someone familiar to watch over the kids, in the hotel room, while he was going to deliver his speech with Sophie. He was fed up of handing them over from nannies to babysitters, and much more at ease to have his mother keep an eye on them. By habit he checks his phone and notices he received an answer from his lover. 

**_You said yourself this election was far from easy. I am sorry if I bother you that much, I wanted to support you on that, I know how important it is for you._ **

Justin sighs and decides on calling Emmanuel. His boyfriend probably didn’t go to bed anyway, and he must be livestreaming the electoral results either on his laptop, or on TV if he managed to find a channel that broadcasts them. Justin takes Hadrien by the waist to sit him on the couch so he can get up and he walks to the window, to not stay in the middle of his family while on the phone. Emmanuel picks up the call almost instantly. 

“Good evening.” says the French “Are you mad at me ?” 

“No.” laughs Justin “But it’s late in France, you really should be sleeping, Emmanuel.” 

The Canadian Prime Minister catches a surprised glance from his wife, and he shrugs in response. Emmanuel never sleeps, and she understood that a long while ago. 

“How long until we know for sure that you stay the Prime Minister ?” asks Emmanuel. 

“Not long now.” replies his lover looking at the results on the screen “In about thirty to forty minutes we should have enough seats to ensure this. But I won’t have the majority like last time, that’s almost certain now.” 

“Does that mean you’re fucked ?”

“Not really, only that I will have to make alliances to pass laws. It should be okay.” 

“Will you let me know when you know for certain that it’s okay for you ?” 

“I will, for sure. But don’t worry, I feel confident about tonight. And you sound as worried as Hadrien, which is seriously concerning.” 

It makes the French President laughs a little, and that’s already a victory for Justin. 

“I’ll send you a text when I know for certain that we can keep working together, okay ?” proposes the Canadian laughing. 

“What if we can’t ?” reacts Emmanuel “What are the options ? I mean, if it’s not you, that’s Andrew Scheer, right ? How is he ?”

“Don’t get me started on Andrew, Emmanuel, please. Not tonight.” chuckles Justin “We’ll talk about him later if you want, but tonight is really not the night.” 

“Okay, okay.” nods the French. 

“I might say something that I’ll regret later if I start now, and I have a speech to deliver, and he’ll probably be giving his at the same time. So I’ll try to not get too personal.” 

“I understand.” chuckles Emmanuel “I’m sorry for disturbing you.” 

“It’s fine, I like talking to you. I have to go, but I’ll text you.” 

“Okay. Thanks, and good luck.” 

“Are you watching the results live ?”

“Yes, on my laptop.” answers the French “I’ll stay for your speech as well.” 

“You really should go to bed, Emmanuel.” laughs Justin shaking his head nonetheless “Bye.” 

“Good evening.” 

He hangs up and puts his phone back in his jeans pocket. He joins Sophie on the couch, and kisses her in the neck. His hand finds hers and she turns to him : 

“Still confident ?”

“Very much.” asserts Justin “Can everyone please stop worrying ? We’re good, look at the number of seats we have already. We’ll crush them.” 

“Hey !” she frowns “Don’t say that. You don’t crush people. We don’t do that here.” 

“Sorry.” he sighs “I got carried away.” 

“Is your speech ready ?” she questions. 

“It is. It has been since the beginning of the afternoon. Do you want to read it ?” 

“No, it’s fine, I trust you.” 

“Can I read it ?” asks Xavier. 

“Sure.” answers his father a bit surprised “It’s in my briefcase on the bed, in the top pocket. I didn’t know you had any interest in this.” 

“I do.” shrugs his son “More or less.” 

His father is about to add something, but the door of their room opens and Margaret, his mother, enters. Hadrien jumps to her neck, and Ella does just about the same. She hugs them both, before taking her son into her arms. 

“I am proud of you, Justin.” she says to him “And I never doubted you could win that one too.” 

“Thanks, Mom.” 

The woman kisses Sophie on both cheeks, and looks for her grandson, who she finds, sitting on the bed, busy reading his father’s speech. She sits next to him and kisses him on top of the head, reading over his shoulder. 

“It’s a good speech, Dad.” concludes Xavier after his reading “But are sure you’re saying ‘thank you’ enough ?” he jokes. 

“Come on,” laughs Justin “you know how this works : I have to say thank you to anyone that voted, or didn’t vote for me. Do you really think this is good ?” 

“Maybe…” hesitates Xavier. 

“Go on.” encourages his father sitting on the edge of the bed. 

“Maybe, you could try speaking a bit more about unity, given that the results are really divided ? But this is just an idea, maybe it’s not a good one.” brushes off the young teenager. 

“I think this is a really good one, Xav’.” replies Justin “I will have to adjust parts of the speech anyway to fit with tonight’s results. But if you think I should talk about unity, then I will talk about it.” 

Justin gently plays with Xavier’s hair, admiring the young and educated bright teen he is becoming. 

“We need to change clothes, Justin.” indicates Sophie giving a glance at the clock “Do you want to take a shower before we go ?” 

“No, I’m fine. But if you want to take one, you’d better go now. Still decided on wearing your golden outfit ?”

“Yes.” 

“Good choice.” approves Ella “I love you in it.” 

Sophie had been trying on several outfits during the week, testing options for tonight. Justin had opted for a plain blue suit, and a dark blue dotted tie, with a white shirt. Something very classical. 

“I’m going to go shower then.” says Sophie stealing a long and passionate kiss from her husband “You’d better change while I’m gone.” 

“That is gross.” mutters Xavier once his mother is gone “Please don’t kiss like that on stage tonight.” he adds to his father. 

“We’ll try not to.” chuckles Justin “Why don’t you take a paper, and write a couple of sentences for my speech while I get changed for tonight ? If you feel inspired, of course. No pressure.” 

He winks at his son, and locks himself in the parental bedroom of the suite to change clothes. While he does so, part of his brain keeps adding up number of seats that are displayed on the screen, and his smile enlarges when he realizes he won the election... It’s done : no one can beat him, and even though he won’t have a majority anymore, he’ll still be the Prime Minister for four more years. 

“Why are you grinning like an idiot ?” asks Sophie, joining him only wearing her underwear. 

“Because we won, love.” he says taking her by the waist and lifting her from the floor “We won !” 

They giggle like teenagers and kiss multiple times, sharing this moment of happiness after long weeks of hard work and exhausting travels and meetings and worrying polls and strategic decisions. They won. 

“Congratulations, Justin.” she says when he eventually lets go of her “I knew you had it in you. I am proud of what we achieved together.” 

“I love you, Sophie.” 

“I love you too.” 

They kiss once more, and Justin lets her get dressed, while he returns to his mother and children as he had already changed clothes. They welcome him with a round of applause, and he bows to them, like a comedian, which makes them laugh. 

“Congratulations, Justin.” says Margaret with a bit of emotion in her voice “I always knew you were destined to do incredible things.” 

“Thank you.” he answers, kissing her on the cheek. 

“Bravo, Dad !” exclaims Ella-Grâce. 

Justin hugs her for an extremely long time, and he opens his arms to invite his two boys to join this hug. He did this for them too. When he started running in politics, he did it to build a better world, for future generations. And coincidentally, he announced his beginnings in the political world, the day Sophie announced she was expecting Xavier. As if everything as always been for them. 

“I told you we’d make it.” he says to his children “Thank you for supporting me on this path. I know I’m not always the best Dad you could have wished for, but your mother and I love you very much, and we’ll do our best so that these four years run as smoothly as possible, okay ?” 

“Okay.” nods Hadrien. 

“Yep !” adds Xavier. 

“Sure.” answers Ella-Grace. 

He makes sure to kiss all three of them before breaking their hug, and returns to the bed, in which both his son will sleep later tonight, and on which Xavier abandoned his speech, and the notes he scribbled down for him. He gathers the paper, fetches a pen in his briefcase to start working on it, but before, he draws his phone which keeps buzzing, from his trousers pocket and remembers he promised his boyfriend a text. 

**_No Andrew Scheer for you, love. I’m Prime Minister for four more years. I told you I would make it. Thanks for worrying for me, it’s really adorable. I still think you should go to bed, but if not, I’ll be delivering my speech in about thirty-five minutes. I love you. So much._ **

Emmanuel answers less than a minute later and the text makes Justin blush, gasp and nearly drop his phone at the same time.    
  
**_Congrats, Prime Minister Trudeau_ **

With those four words is attached a picture, of Emmanuel lounging in his office chair, a bright smile on his lips, shirt wide open, the fly of his trousers equally open, a hand down his boxers briefs. Outrageously indecent, and highly arousing at the same time. Half-angel, half-demon. Justin clears his throat to hide his trouble, and he answers his lover. 

**_Fuck you, love. You can’t send me texts like that. You know the effect it has on me… It’s too tempting._ **

Once again, the answer comes in no time. 

**_Oh, you mean images like that one ?_ **

This time, on the attached picture, Emmanuel’s trousers have vanished, and his erection can be seen through the fabric of his underwear. He seems to be enjoying himself very much, and his piercing blue eyes looking at the camera are not helping Justin focus at all. 

**_You are the devil, Manu. Please stop, you’re going to make me hard. You know it can’t happen, not before my speech._ **

Emmanuel answers almost instantly : 

**_Every winner deserves a reward. And I know you want more. But I’ll pause for now, you need to focus on your speech._ **

Justin thanks him with a text and with a little sigh he puts his phone away. Emmanuel completely threw him off-path, and Sophie comes out of their bedroom, fully dressed, to find him unable to write a single word on the paper he has on his knees. 

“Are you alright ?” she asks. 

“Yes.” he answers “I got a little bit sidetracked. You look stunning, Soph’.”

“Thank you. Have you told Emmanuel about your victory ?”

“Hmm.” nods Justin trying to dismiss the pictures that keeps coming back in front of his eyes of Emmanuel teasing him “I sent him a text.” 

His assistant knocks on the door and Justin lets her in. 

“We should get going in ten minutes, Sir.” she says “Do you have everything you need ? Do you need help with your speech ? Do you need anything else ?” 

“I’m fine.” answers Justin with a smile “I had help with my speech, and we’ll be down in ten minutes.” 

“Scream if you need help.” she laughs “We’ll wait for you. And congratulations on the win, Sir. It’s well-deserved.” 

“Thanks.” 

He spends the next ten minutes arranging his speech to fit best the results of the election, addressing directly the people of Quebec, and the communities, that didn’t vote for him, but whose vote he needs to govern. Sophie stays by his side, whispering words from time to time, pointing out mistakes, guiding him on the best way to formulate his sentences. She’s of precious help, because he is still distracted by what Emmanuel sent to him. 

“Time to go.” says Sophie. 

She gestures the kids to come forward and tells them : 

“Try not to go to bed too late, okay ? Be smart, be nice with your grandmother, we should be back in a couple of hours.” 

“Can we watch Dad’s speech on TV ?” asks Ella-Grâce. 

“Of course.” answers Justin “But you should put your pajama on first, and brush your teeth, you all had a very long day, and it will be time for bed soon after that.” 

“Fine.” sighs Hadrien who, for now, has no intention to go to sleep. 

“I’ll take care of it, don’t worry.” intervenes Margaret “You two should go, or you’ll be late.” 

Justin thanks her, kisses his children, and on his way down to the hotel lobby, he answers a load of congratulations texts from his friends, team, and family. He also sends one new text to his boyfriend. 

**_You were right. I want more. You bewitched me with only two pictures… Are you sure the line is secure though ?_ **

He doesn’t have time to wait for an answer as they are arrived in the lobby, greeted by a round of applause, by his team, and a heavy security team, ready to escort them to where he will deliver his victory speech. Three cars are waiting for them, and before going, not trusting himself for keeping his head straight, he grabs Bart, his trusted security officer by the shoulder and shoves his cellphone in the man’s hand. 

“You keep that for me until after my speech. No matter what happens, or how much it buzzes, or if I ask you to give it to me, you don’t.” 

“Are you certain ?” 

“Absolutely. And it will keep buzzing all evening long. Just don’t give it to me.” 

“Understood. And congratulations, Justin.” 

“Thank you.” 

He only gets his phone back an hour and a half later, when he gets off stage, after his speech, a lot of handshakes, and a short meeting with his campaign team. He thanks Bart for keeping it for him, and he notices immediately that Emmanuel went wild : he has a gigantic amount of unread messages from his lover. He’ll need to find a way to escape his wife for a moment to check them out. Before they climb into their car, he takes Sophie by the hips and kisses her tenderly. 

“Thanks for always being here for me, love.” he says “You know I could not do any of this without you.” 

“I know.” she chuckles “But that success, it’s all yours. It’s your hard-work and your dedication that brought you here. And your ease with the people that allowed you to get reelected. I am proud of you, Justin. So proud.” 

“Thank you.” he whispers again before kissing her again “Let’s go back to see if our little monsters are sleeping.” 

“I do hope they are.” laughs Sophie. 

They climb into the car waiting for them and during the short ride back to the hotel, Justin answers as many messages he can. The next few days are going to be busy with a lot of phone calls, messages, meetings, handshakes, and he is not really looking forward to it. That is not his favorite part of the political life. They are escorted back to their hotel room by two security officers who stay at the door, while they enter, silently, inside the room. Margaret gets up to greet them : 

“They’ve fallen asleep as soon as they got into bed.” she says “About forty minutes ago.” 

“Thanks for taking care of this, Margaret.” says Sophie. 

“My pleasure.” answers her mother-in-law “Justin, Xavier was delighted you took his recommendations into account for your speech. He is too proud to say it, but he really appreciated it.” 

“Thanks. His input was welcomed.” answers Justin. 

“I am going to go to bed now.” says Margaret “I am exhausted “And you two should do the same. The next weeks are going to be exhausting.” 

“We will. Thanks again, Mom.” replies his son. 

He hugs her, for a really long time, then Sophie takes her into her arms, and Margaret goes, having booked a nearby room in the hotel, so she can share the morning with them as well. 

“I need a shower.” says Justin to his wife “A long one, to relax before joining you. Don’t wait for me.”

“What if I had other ideas ?” she teases him, trailing her finger down his chest 

“Not tonight, Soph’. We both are exhausted. But I promise we’ll have an amazing night of sex tomorrow.” 

“Promise ?” 

“Yes.” grins Justin. 

She gets on tiptoes to kiss him tenderly, and they part ways. She goes to kiss each of their children on the head before going into their bedroom, while he locks himself in the bathroom. The first thing he does is to get his phone out of his pocket. He gets rid of his shoes and tie while he reads the first text Emmanuel sent him : 

**_Of course the line is secure, I wouldn’t be sending such pictures otherwise. You are a winner, and you’ll get rewarded with more pictures, my very dear Prime Minister._ **

It makes Justin chuckle and he keeps stripping down while he reads the next messages. 

**_By the way, I am wondering what outfit you are going to wear for your speech. I am betting on a blue suit. I’d say red tie, but you might surprise me…_ **

**_Okay, back to the dirty me._ **

That message is paired with a picture of Emmanuel, bare-chested, only wearing his underwear, still pretty hard in his boxers, one leg up on his desk, nonchalantly gazing at the camera. It sends a shiver down Justin’s spine, and a warmth wakes up his lower stomach. His lover is a master at teasing, and this is a side of him that Justin can’t fight. Not that he wants to, most of the time. The next picture has the French President with his hand down his underwear, smiling at the camera. It makes Justin crazy with desire, and he hurries up to get rid of the rest of his clothes. His cock is half-hard already, and he touches it carefully, not wanting to rush things. He turns the water on in the shower, and keeps scrolling through the pictures he received. The following ones are getting dirtier and dirtier : Emmanuel’s underwear vanishing soon, his intimacy exposed, gloriously erected for his boyfriend. And even if he is hundreds of kilometers away, Justin feels more connected than ever with him. His own hand finds his rod and he starts masturbating, all too slowly, coming back on the best pictures he received. Emmanuel was so kind he even recorded a short video of the end of his session, when he ended up with sperm all over his hands and stomach. He added one last text to conclude this incredibly naughty and wild thing : 

**_I hope you loved this little surprise, my lovely winner. I am so happy that you get to stay in office for a little while longer. I love you, Justin. Call you tomorrow. Have a good night._ **

Justin is biting his lip, doing his best to not rush his own pleasure. He steps into the shower to do so, appreciating the hot water on his body, the steaming flow relaxing his muscles. He closed his eyes, his mind focused on the pictures he received from his boyfriend. His hand is going up and down on his large cock, taking the time to linger on the most sensitive parts, the one only him really knows how to treat properly. He exhales deeply and puts his free hand against the wall, to keep balance, as he accelerates the rhythm. He orgasms not long after, his lover’s name on the lips, dying in his throat as he can’t cry it out loud. The semen is washed off with the water still running down his body and he looks down at it disappearing down the drain while he catches his breath. He washes himself and comes out of the shower, wrapping himself in a bathrobe provided by the hotel. There he takes his time to think about the best answer possible for his boyfriend. 

**_Your gift was incredible, love. I am so glad we can continue to work together for the years to come, and your concern about my reelection tonight was touching. I love you very much, and I can’t wait to have you over the phone, to discuss this at length (pun intended). The next few days are going to be hectic for me, but text me, and I’ll find a way to free a few minutes for you._ **

**_I’m going to bed now, thanks again for the wonderful surprise, you are still making me incredibly horny._ **

**_With all my love, J_ **

He then turns off his phone and goes into his bedroom. Sophie is asleep already, and he crawls next to her in the bed, naked, taking her into his arms. This day has, by far, been one of the most memorable of his life. He closes his eyes and falls asleep almost instantly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ? What about that chapter ? Emmanuel worries about this election ? Justin being calm and composed and confident about the results ? How Justin feels the need to call Emmanuel to reassure him ? How the children are very involved in their father's election ? Xavier asking to read his father's speech ? How Justin takes into account his remarks and suggests for him to help him with the re-write ? Justin's victory ? How Emmanuel "rewards" him ? Justin being troubled and unable to focus ? Him shoving his phone into Bart's hands to keep it for him ? How Justin locks himself up in the bathroom when they come back to the hotel room to read Emmanuel's naughty messages ? 
> 
> What do you expect in the chapters to come ? :D


	26. December 2nd 2019 - London, United Kingdom - Loving is caring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.
> 
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 26 : All of me - John Legend
> 
> \-----
> 
> This chapter takes place the evening before the infamous NATO summit where Justin and Emmanuel got caught gossipping about Trump. I assumed that meds and exhaustion could have caused their tongues to sleep... Stress and anxiety as well maybe ^^

“Come in !” shouts Emmanuel when Justin knocks on the door of his hotel room “It’s open !” 

“What if it wasn’t me ?” jokes the Canadian entering inside the room.

“Who else ?” 

The French President is lying on his bed, wearing only a pair of sweatpants, reading a heavy book. He hasn’t moved when his boyfriend entered, not even turned his head towards him. 

“What’s so interesting ?” asks Justin approaching him for a kiss. 

“Romeo and Juliet.” says Emmanuel finally looking at him and smiling.

They exchange a passionate kiss and Justin sits on the edge of the bed to remove his shoes, socks and suit jacket. He arrived in the morning in London and had been having meetings after meetings all day long. He is exhausted, but glad to have the chance to spend the night with his lover. As usual, they arranged with their security services for this to happen, and the Canadian Prime Minister is supposed to be leaving in the first hours of the morning, to be back at his hotel. And then, they will meet at the NATO summit, as if nothing special happened between them. 

“I guess you don’t mind if I take a quick shower ?” says the Canadian. 

“I don’t mind, indeed.” answers the French 

Justin sees him shiver and he frowns. 

“Are you cold ? Don’t you want to put a t-shirt on ? Please ?” 

“I’m good.” 

“You shivered, love. Your whole body has goosebumps.” 

“I said I’m good.” 

Emmanuel went back to his reading and Justin starts unbuttoning his shirt so he can go take his shower. 

“You know,” says Emmanuel suddenly closing his book and looking at his partner “you and I, we are, very much like Romeo and Juliet, star-crossed lovers.” 

“What ?” 

Where does this come from ? A bit startled by this unusual remark, Justin sits back on the bed and interrogatively gazes at his boyfriend so he explains his thoughts further. 

“You know, the planets don’t really align for us.” continues the French President “And our love had been doomed from the start. We have a beautiful love story to live, but none of us is truly free to live it…” 

“Wait.” cuts Justin “Are you sure you want to discuss about this ? Tonight ?” 

“Listen to me.” continues Emmanuel placing his hand on Justin’s arm “Why ? Why were you placed on my path so late in my life ? What was fate trying to prove ? That I did make the wrong choice by marrying Brigitte ? That I was a fucking moron for being the faithful husband all my life ?”

“Emmanuel !” scowls Justin “You’re not making any sense right now ! Do you hear yourself ?!” 

He got up from the bed and escaped the touch from his boyfriend. This is definitely not a talk they should be having. And Emmanuel is very much in love with Brigitte, which is why it makes no sense that he is having these thoughts. 

“You’ve been reading too much.” jokes Justin trying to defuse his growing feeling of uneasiness “Come on, you can’t seriously be thinking this.” 

“I’m dead-serious.” 

Emmanuel is pouting, arms crossed on his chest, and this would be a very funny scene if this wasn’t so out of character from the French President. Justin is feeling less and less good about all of this, and a heavy weight on his chest prevents him from breathing normally. What is going on with his lover ? 

“Emmanuel, are you feeling okay ?” he questions with concern 

“I’m sad that we can only share a couple of stolen nights during the year, honey. You and I deserve better. We deserve so much better…” 

He shivers again, a drop of sweat rolling down from his neck and between his pectoral muscles. This time, Justin starts to really worry for his boyfriend and he joins him on the bed. He wraps an arm around Emmanuel’s waist, and presses his lips against the forehead of his lover. The French’s skin is burning. Justin replaces his lips with his hand, like he did so many times with his children, and he ignores Emmanuel’s protestations. His lover is feverish, and that could explain his erratic behavior. 

“Does your head hurt ?” he asks softly. 

“No.” says Emmanuel. 

“Does any other part of your body hurt ?”

“No.” 

“Did you take any medication ?”

“No.” 

“You’re sick, Emmanuel. You have fever. You’re burning hot…” sighs Justin “Lie down.”

He helps his boyfriend lie down in the bed and he plants a soft kiss on his forehead. He then kneels down by Emmanuel suitcase and looks for the toiletries bag of his partner, to see if he has any medication in it. But he doesn’t find any. Justin’s fingers are shaking, and he takes a few deep breaths to calm down. He needs to stay calm, and alert. It’s no big deal, and whatever Emmanuel might be suffering from is certainly nothing serious. But the fever worries him. 

“Do you have your doctor’s number in your phone ?” he asks his boyfriend, sitting down next to him, stroking his head calmly. 

“No. And you can’t call anyone.” 

“Why ? You are sick, love. You don’t know me if you think I’m going to let you like this… You’re not even making sense…”

“You can’t call anyone, because no one knows we’re together, you idiot !” grumbles Emmanuel. 

He draws the sheets over his half-naked body, suddenly feeling cold. But he’s right. Justin is absolutely not supposed to be here. And if anyone discovered him in the hotel room of Emmanuel, that would be a complete disaster. 

“Go take your shower, I’m fine.” adds the French President “I simply need to rest for a bit.” 

“I am worried about you, love.” 

“And it’s cute, but there’s no reason, really.” 

Justin kisses him on the forehead once more and goes into the bathroom to take a quick shower. He can’t shake the nasty feeling he has about Emmanuel. His boyfriend is sick, and there’s nothing he can do to help him. Being helpless is the worst feeling in the world and he really wishes he could do something to ease Emmanuel’s state of mind. And with a bit of luck, the French President will feel better in the morning. He needs to, given the tough discussions ahead of them in the summit. Justin showers quickly and hops into a clean pair of underwear, and sweatpants before joining his boyfriend. He gasps when he realizes the mess Emmanuel made with their bed. The French got rid of the bedsheets, throwing them at the bottom of the bed, and he stripped down to be naked, but he is sweating heavily, his chest glistening in the dim light of the room. 

“Love ?” calls Justin 

“It was too hot.” justifies his boyfriend. 

“You were freezing fifteen minutes ago.” says the Canadian “Give me your phone, I’m calling someone.” 

“You can’t. I told you already…” 

Justin sighs and starts pacing through the room. Of course he can’t. Emmanuel is right. He drops on his knees and looks through his own bag if by any chance he got any medication, but he’s certain he didn't pack any. Because he never gets sick. Never. He considers going to see his bodyguard, but what could Bart do to help him ? That’d be awfully embarrassing… Maybe Emmanuel’s gorillas could help him ? They must know the name of his physician at least… But once again, they don’t have the sufficient level of clearance for this, and Justin would have to explain why he is the one asking for it, and that’ll lead to an awful lot of embarrassing questions. 

“Come here.” whines Emmanuel “I want to sleep next to you…” 

“I’m coming.” brushes off the Canadian “I’m looking for something to bring your fever down. Are you sure you have nothing in your suitcase ?”

“Didn’t you check it before ?” 

“I did.” 

Justin sits on the floor and takes his face into his hands. This feels like a nightmare. He can hear Emmanuel’s erratic breathing, and he doesn’t want to leave him like that for the night. As the responsible one, he needs to do something. And the only solution he sees is incredibly risky and stupid. And his boyfriend will despise him so much for this. So much. But what other choice does he have ? 

“I’ll be with you in a minute, Manu’...” says Justin getting up and kissing him on the lips “I promise.” 

He stole his boyfriend’s phone from the nightstand and he locks himself into the bathroom with it. Emmanuel will kill him for what he is about to do. With trembling hands, Justin unlocks the phone, the code being so obvious for him. He then heads straight for the repertory and stops with his finger right above Brigitte’s name. Is he really going to do so ? What is she going to think of him ? He was about to have sex with her husband… Justin you are a fucking bastard. But for once in your life, do the right thing… He presses his finger on the phone screen and launches the call. Brigitte picks up, thinking it’s her husband calling : 

“Good evening ! How’s London ?”

“Good evening, Brigitte,” says Justin clearing his throat “I happen to be with your husband just about now and…”

“Justin ?” she exclaims with surprise in her voice. 

“That’s me.” answers the Canadian very uncomfortable “Your husband is feverish. And you know how stubborn he can be…”

“Let me guess.” she cuts “He doesn’t want to be seen by a doctor ?”

“Exactly. But his fever is not coming down, and I’d feel much better if he saw someone. Do you think you could give me the number of his physician ?” 

“I’ll call him myself, if you want.”

“Thank you.” sighs Justin with relief. 

He feels terrible for having had to call her, and thus scream to her face that Emmanuel planned on cheating while away in London. 

“Brigitte ?” he says “I… I am…”

“Don’t.” she says “I don’t want to hear that. I’ll call you back when I’ve had the physician on the phone.” 

“Okay. Thanks.” 

He hangs up and comes back to the bedroom. His boyfriend is back into his sweatpants, and Justin sits next to him. The French President snuggles next to him, his head resting on Justin’s lap. 

“Was it Sophie ?” asks Emmanuel. 

But he realizes at that moment that his lover is holding his own phone in his hand. He frowns hard and lifts his blue eyes towards him. 

“I did what I had to do, love.” apologizes Justin “You need a doctor’s advice, and some medication, or you won’t even be able to get out of bed tomorrow.” 

“Who did you call ?”

Justin keeps silent. He doesn’t want to answer that question. This is not something that Emmanuel would forgive him. 

“Who did you call ?!” repeats the French President louder, sounding really pissed this time “Honey, who did you call ?”

The screen of Emmanuel’s phone lights up and answers the question for Justin. The Canadian picks up the call and escapes the bed to answer his boyfriend’s wife. Emmanuel is shaking his head in disbelief, half-pissed half-puzzled. What went through Justin’s head ? This is insane. 

“Justin ?” says Brigitte immediately “I got my husband’s physician on the phone. He can send one of his colleagues to Emmanuel’s room, for a quick examination, right now.”

“Yes. Please. I’d feel much better to know he has been seen by someone.”

“Fine. I’ll let them know. But I need you to warn my husband’s security service. Can you do this ?” 

“I will. Thank you so much. And sorry it had to come to this.”

“It’s okay. You did the right thing calling me.” 

She pauses for a few seconds and adds : 

“Justin ?”

“Yes ?”

“Could you… Could you take care of him this night ?”

“I will. I will take care of him.” 

“Thank you.”

They hang up and Emmanuel screams at his boyfriend : 

“YOU CALLED MY WIFE ?! OF ALL PEOPLE YOU CALLED MY WIFE ?!” 

“Who else could I call ?” harshly replies Justin “Who else ? Tell me !” 

The harsh tone surprised Emmanuel and he shuts up. Justin sighs and sits on the edge of the bed. 

“A doctor is coming here to see you. I need to change, and get into proper clothes, as if I was here to work with you. Try to lie down and rest, will you ?” he says to Emmanuel. 

“Can I have a kiss ?”

“Yes you can.” 

Justin kisses him tenderly, and Emmanuel accepts to lie back down into the bed. Justin hurries up to get back into a pair of jeans and a clean shirt. He puts a pair of socks, and fabric sneakers, and gathers all of his belongings into the overnight bag he brought. He hides it into the bathroom, to cover the fact he is supposed to spend the night in Emmanuel’s room and he says to his boyfriend : 

“I’ll be back in a minute. You stay in bed.” 

He gets out of the room, making his bodyguard jump in scare. 

“A problem ?” immediately asks Bart, noticing the change of clothes, and the wary eyes of his boss. 

“Emmanuel’s sick. I need to warn his security team to let the doctor come in.” 

“What about…” starts the officer. 

“I’ll say I was here for business, but I noticed he was feverish.” explains Justin “That’s why I put some clothes back on.” 

“Clever. Can I do something to help ?” 

“There will probably be a run to the drugstore to do at one point. Could you do that ?”

“Certainly.” 

“Thank you. I have to see Emmanuel’s officers now.” 

Justin runs towards the end of the corridor, where two of Emmanuel’s bodyguards are positioned. They are a bit surprised to see him arriving but he gives them no time to ask questions : 

“Your boss is feverish. There’s a doctor on his way to examine him, it has been arranged with Emmanuel’s wife, and his physician. I will be staying with him, and I might sleep on the couch there’s in his room, just to make sure he sleeps well, and he wakes up on time.” 

“You don’t have to,” indicates one of the two gorillas to the Canadian “if you have other things planned.” 

Little did he know that it has been planned all along that Justin spent the night with Emmanuel anyway. 

“Don’t worry about me. But please, bring the doctor to Emmanuel’s room as soon as he arrives.” 

They both nod and let their team, downstairs, know about the change of plans. Justin returns to his own bodyguard, and stays with him, in the corridor, to calm down his nerves. And it’ll help Emmanuel to calm down and rest of they are not together. 

“Are you alright ?” asks Bart with concern. 

“I’m a bit… shaken, to be honest.” chuckles the PM “Sick kids, I can handle. But a sick adult is a lot different.”

“Especially when the said adult is your boyfriend.” laughs the bodyguard. 

“Especially.” nods the Canadian “And he’s not the easiest one to live. Stubborn, grumpy and everything.” 

They both laugh, but quickly stop as a man is brought forward by one of Emmanuel’s officers. 

“Doctor Smith.” says the man extending his hand towards Justin “I have to say I wasn’t expecting to see any other head of state here tonight.” 

“I was working with Emmanuel, ahead of tomorrow’s summit. But you’ll see he’s in no condition to work.” answers Justin shaking his hand “Please come in.” 

He opens the door and steps aside to let the doctor go in. Emmanuel turns on himself in the bed, still heavily sweating, but wrapped in the bedsheets once again. Justin refrains a twitching of his mouth to see his boyfriend like that, and he leans against the door while the doctor approaches Emmanuel to examine him. The French President reluctantly lets himself be checked by the physician and the man is about to ask Justin to step out of the bedroom, but Emmanuel says : 

“No, he can stay. It’s alright. He’s my… My bo…”

“Best friend.” cuts Justin avoiding them both an embarrassing moment “I’m his best friend. And Brigitte, his wife, asked me to take care of him.” 

“He can stay.” repeats the French President “He can stay.” 

Justin sits on the sofa that is against the wall of Emmanuel’s bedroom and he checks his phone while the doctor finishes with his boyfriend. 

“I don’t think it’s anything serious.” concludes the physician “But I’m going to give you something to bring the fever down so you can sleep properly.” 

“Contagious ?” asks the Canadian. 

"Probably not. A mild cold, or a laryngitis.”

“He has meetings, and speeches scheduled tomorrow,” continues Justin “he can’t cancel those ones. Can you give him something strong enough so he can be okay all day ?”

“I will.” 

The physician writes up a prescription and leaves it on the nightstand. Emmanuel is sitting on the bed, his eyes looking in the distance. The night will be a long one. And the medicines are needed, urgently. 

“Thanks again for coming.” says Justin shaking hands with the doctor “I know it’s quite unusual, but he was in no shape to work tonight.” 

“Indeed.” agrees the man “Is someone staying with him tonight ?” 

“Yes.” evasively answers the Canadian. 

“Good.” 

Justin brings the man back to the door, and watches him go away in the distance. He then gives the prescription to his bodyguard. 

“Thank you, for taking care of this. I would have gone myself, but I think he needs my presence, now.”

“I wouldn’t have let you go out anyway.” answers the man “I’ll be back as soon as I can with his medicine.” 

“Thanks.” 

He closes the door and comes back to his boyfriend. He sits down next to him, and takes the feverish man into his arms. 

“How do you feel ?” he calmly asks, stroking the back of Emmanuel’s head 

“Feverish. Sick. Stupid. Angry.” states his lover “I’m sorry, I ruined one of the only nights we can actually spend together.” 

“It’s hardly your fault, love.” 

“Maybe you shouldn’t hold me so close. You might catch whatever I have.” 

“I don’t fucking care. We’re going to spend the night together, just as we intended to do. But maybe you should take a shower first. Your whole body is sweaty, and I think it could do you good…” 

“Will you come with me ?” 

“Into the bathroom yes, not into the shower.” 

They both chuckle, and Emmanuel rests his chin on his boyfriend’s shoulder. He feels a bit better when Justin is around. 

“I need to call Brigitte.” he groans “To let her know what the doctor said.” 

“I’ll send her a text.” says Justin “You just hop into the shower. Please.” 

“Fine. You have to call your wife too. Won’t she get worried to not have news ?” 

“I’ll call her. Stop worrying.” 

To keep Emmanuel from worrying so much about everything, Justin kisses him with passion. His lips dance with Emmanuel’s one, and they both abandon themselves to each other. In that instant, nothing matters but the other. Sure, their night won’t go as they imagined it, and the brand new lube they bought will stay in their suitcase, but does it really matter ? They craved for intimacy, and what is more intimate than caring for the other ? Emmanuel gets up and goes into the bathroom. He gets rid of his sweatpants and steps under the shower, while Justin takes his phone and types a text for Brigitte with it. 

“Is it okay if I tell your wife that you are too tired to talk to her tonight ?” he questions Emmanuel. 

“Just tell her I’ll give her a call in the morning. And that I am sorry you had to involve her into this.” answers Emmanuel from under the hot water. 

Justin smiles to see his boyfriend regain some energy and feel a bit better. Hopefully, with a little help from medicines, Emmanuel will be able to have a solid night sleep and to function properly tomorrow for the summit. Justin starts unbutonning his shirt to feel more comfortable and he waits until Emmanuel steps out of the shower to show him the text before sending it to Brigitte. 

“Yes. That’s good.” nods the French President “Thank you. And for the record, I’m not completely mad at you for calling her.” 

“I know.” 

Justin gives him a towel in which Emmanuel wraps himself and he returns to their bed, lying face down into the pillow, his wet hair being the only patch of color on the white sheets. Justin settles on the sofa to call his wife before joining him for their night. 

“Good evening !” says Sophie “How is it going in London ?”

“I’m okay.” answers Justin “Had a long day of meetings to prepare for tomorrow. I am a bit exhausted to be honest.” 

“Early night, then ?” 

“I will try, yes.” smiles the Canadian looking at his boyfriend lying on their bed “I need to be ready for tomorrow negotiations. They will be harsh, and complicated.”

“Weren’t you supposed to meet with Emmanuel tonight ?”

“He’s sick.” answers Justin “Nothing serious, but we couldn’t really work, or chat for that matters.” 

“Oh. I hope he gets better before the summit.” 

“He will.” 

Soft knocks can be heard on the door and Justin gets up to open the door to his bodyguard. He puts his index on his mouth to tell him to keep silence and make him step into the room. 

“Do you mind if I call you back tomorrow, Soph’ ?” he says to his wife who he still has on the line “I feel exhausted, and I’d still like to take a shower before going to bed.” 

“Fine with me.” she says “Don’t worry. Have a good night. And a good day tomorrow.” 

“Thank you, Sophie. Have a nice evening.”

He hangs up with her and turns to his bodyguard : 

“Did you find everything that was on Emmanuel’s prescription ?” 

“Yes.” says Bart handing Justin a paper bag with the medicines in it “The indications are written on each box. There are two he needs to take tonight.” 

He gives a quick glance to Emmanuel, lying on the bed and looks back at Justin, asking : 

“How’s he doing ?”

“I’m fine.” groans the French President who overheard them. 

He turns his head on the side and lifts his thumb to the bodyguard who answers with an apologetic smile. Obviously, Emmanuel is not doing fine. And Justin can read in his eyes that the fever is coming back up. 

“At what time do you want to be leaving tomorrow, Justin ?” asks Bart to his boss 

“I have a clean change of clothes, I can take a shower here, I’ll grab a breakfast on the go… Let’s say… Seven thirty at the latest ? I know it is later than what we initially planned, but Emmanuel’s wife asked me to keep an eye on him tonight. And I want to do so.” 

“What about the public eye ?” 

“Emmanuel’s security team has been advised that I’ll be crashing here.” he says pointing at the couch in the corner of the room “And we’ll make sure no one else knows I have been sleeping here.” 

“Okay. Just so you know, it won’t be me in the morning, but I’ll leave instructions to make sure nothing happens.” 

“Thank you so much, Bart.” 

Justin takes him by the shoulder, in a friendly, and grateful way, and he smiles at him. 

“I’m going to leave you two now, but if you need anything, I won’t be far away.” 

“Thanks. Good night Bart.”

“Good night, Justin.” 

“Good night, Bart.” adds Emmanuel from the bed. 

The bodyguard leaves the room and Justin locks the door after him, for extra security. He strips down to his boxers and sits into the bed. Emmanuel snuggles next to him, like earlier, and Justin reviews the medicine that Bart brought back. 

“You need to take those two right now.” he says to Emmanuel dropping two boxes on his lap “It’ll help with the fever. Then you’ll sleep…”

“We both sleep.” corrects the French 

“We’ll see about that.” 

Emmanuel is sweating again, and his hair is sticking to his forehead. Justin moves it aside and gets the pills out for his boyfriend. 

“Do you need wa-a-ter ?”

Emmanuel swallowed the two pills before Justin could even finish the word water, and the Canadian sighs, shaking his head. He puts the rest of the medicines on the nightstand, with their phones, and he makes Emmanuel lie down, with his chest, and head on his lap. He has an arm around his waist, and his free hand is playing with the French’s hair, massaging his scalp in soothing motion. 

“I could get used to this.” says Emmanuel with a weak smile. 

“Me as well.” admits his boyfriend “Small, stolen moments, just the two of us. But you really need to rest, Emmanuel.” 

“I don’t want to sleep. We were supposed to be spending time together, honey. And I am ruining our only night together… When will be our next ? Who knows ? In a week ? A month ? A year ?”

“Enough, love. You are not ruining anything. We are spending time together, that’s all that matters.” 

“Can we watch a movie or something ? So I don’t feel like a total failure ?” 

“I have a better idea.” smirks Justin “Do you trust me ?” 

“Always.” 

“Then close your eyes, and settle down.” 

Emmanuel reluctantly obeys this order and Justin grabs the book that his boyfriend abandoned earlier. He roughly evaluates where Emmanuel might have stopped and opens the book there ; he starts reading the play to his lover, with the best British accent he is capable of. Soothed by the hand of his lover in his hair, and the Canadian voice reading Shakespeare words, Emmanuel dozes off in less than ten minutes. Justin closes the book and admires the peaceful smile on the lips of his boyfriend. He managed to calm him down enough to make him sleep. He carefully moves Emmanuel on the bed so he can lie down next to him and he sets up an alarm clock for six in the morning on his phone. He then snuggles next to his partner, an arm around his body, to keep him safe, loved and protected, and he closes his eyes, falling asleep in almost no time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo ? A pretty intense chapter indeed ? Just so you know, it forecasts the two next ones and we are at some sort of decisive point of the fic (and I should shut up now or I'll spoil everything). 
> 
> As usual, a list of questions to help you comment, but by all means feel free to comment as you wish : Justin and Emmanuel meeting in Em's hotel room before the summit ? Their plan to spend the night together ? How Justin picks up immediately that soemthing is off ? Emmanuel's reading ? His weird thoughts ? Justin trying not to panic when he realizes Emmanuel is feverish? Emmanuel being sweaty then cold then hot again ? Justin freaking out but acting responsibly and trying to find solutions ? THE PHONE CALL ?! Emmanuel's reaction to it ? Justin taking care of the physician coming to check on his boyfriend ? The conversation with Bart ? Emmanuel being grumpy because he ruined their night but Justin telling him it's okay ? How Justin convinces him to go to sleep ? 
> 
> What do you think will happen in the next chapters ? Do you think Justin's phonecall to Brigitte will have consequences or will the two men find a new excuse to justify their behaviour ?


	27. December 21st 2019 - French Alps, France - Birthday surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, one of the so-much-awaited chapters. Please grab a tissue box, just in case. And don't forget to let me know, after your reading what you thought of it ! 
> 
> \-------------
> 
> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.
> 
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 27 : Aimer (Roméo and Juliet, the musical) 

Emmanuel gazes through the gigantic bay-window onto the snow-covered mountains. His mug of coffee has long gone cold, but he doesn't care. He isolated himself in the furthest part of the cabin they rented for the week to be alone with his thoughts. And to avoid his wife. Brigitte has been trying to corner him all week long, dropping clues that she needed to talk to him, and he knows exactly what topic they will be discussing. And he knows how much this conversation will be painful for both of them. And how harmful it could be for their marriage. Ever since the NATO summit, at the beginning of the month, Emmanuel has been walking on thin-ice every single time he mentioned his boyfriend in front of his wife. Brigitte got confirmation that day that his relationship with Justin wasn’t just a fling, wasn’t just a one-night thing, but that it was something deeper. And it hasn’t been a single day ever since he hasn’t hate himself for doing this to his wife. She deserves so much better… She pretends to be alright, of course, and they acted as if everything was normal, up until this point, but today has been extremely weird. Today is Emmanuel’s birthday, and they went, just the two of them to the restaurant for lunch, as the birthday tradition she insists on maintaining, but she told him he’ll have his present tonight. 

“Here you are !” exclaims Brigitte making him jump in scare “Sorry. Did I startle you ?”

“I was… lost in my thoughts.” he says. 

“Can we sit ?” 

She’s holding a very small box into her hand, wrapped in a kraft paper. His birthday gift probably. They sit down into the couch of the lovely cabin they are spending their Christmas holidays in and she places the box out of his reach. 

“We need to talk first.” she says 

“Are you sure ?” he immediately replies “I don’t think we need to ruin those beautiful vacation… Those family vacation, with such a talk. Don’t get me wrong : I know what you want to talk about, and I know we will have to eventually talk about it, but please, don’t do this to me today. Don’t do this to us today…” 

She barely contains a smile. When under a lot of pressure, he speaks a lot, and it’s really hard to stop him. She takes his hand and he immediately withdraws it, like he did so many time these past few weeks. Emmanuel has been on edge ever since he came back from London, and he didn’t really manage to relax, not even on the snowy slopes of the Alps in which they arrived two days ago for a week of holidays with their family. And neither ski nor his grandchildren managed to help him unwind. 

“I want to talk about it, here and now.” says Brigitte “And you’re not going to walk away from this conversation. Please.” 

He sighs and hides his face into his hands. How can he look at her after doing what he did to her ? He has been cheating on her for far too long, and the truth is about to come out… And she will never forgive him for doing so. This is far more than a couple of sex encounters along the road, it’s feelings, a followed relationship, many secret meetings behind closed doors. And that is not something she can overlook. 

“I need answers.” she says “Don’t you think you at least owe me this ?” 

“I do.” he admits. 

He curls up into a corner of the couch, an arm around his knees, careful to avoid looking directly at her. 

“Are you sure you want to inflict that on yourself ?” he questions “This is not necessary, I mean… You already know what is going on, do you really think details will add anything to your anger ? To the divorce papers ?”

He looks almost like a teenager, cornered in the sofa like this, but mostly like a reindeer caught in the lights of car : trapped and desperately looking for an escape, but yet unable to move. 

“Let’s start from the beginning : do you have feelings for him ?”

Brigitte avoided the first name of her husband’s lover, like she so carefully avoided it during the past few weeks. In fact, ever since London, Justin’s name has not been pronounced by either of them in the presence of the other. They chose to ignore the elephant in the room for as long as possible, because it was too painful to look at it, but now, they have to go onto this path. And Brigitte has used those weeks to do some researches, she read a lot, more than she could have imagined, and it’s no accident she cornered her husband on his birthday. 

“Yes.” admits Emmanuel in a soft sigh “I have feelings for Justin. But I never stopped loving you. Not for one split second.” 

“Does he have feelings for you ?” 

Emmanuel nods in silence. Of course Justin has feelings for him, or else it wouldn’t be worth pursuing anything. And throwing both their marriages to the bin. 

“When did it start ?” continues Brigitte, with a very serious expression on her face, one that Emmanuel can not read through.

“We made a very lasting first impression on each other when we first met, in Taormina, before the G7. And it evolved from there… But I swear that at first, it was only supposed to be a very great friendship. I was only aiming at this. And he was supposed to be straight. You said it yourself, he is madly in love with Sophie, and they have three kids, so clearly not bisexual from an outsider perspective and…”

“Let’s focus on you for now.” she interrupts him “We’ll come back to Justin later.” 

“Sorry.” brushes off Emmanuel.

He gets up and stretches his legs and arms. He feels nervous, and terribly uneasy to be talking about this with his wife. This feels wrong, this feels terribly wrong for her. He walks to the bay-window and positions himself in front of it, his back to Brigitte, as they keep talking. 

“When did you realize it might be more than a friendship ?”

“From the very start. I went to the first meeting with Edouard Philippe, and I betrayed myself in the first five minutes after that meeting. Edouard asked me what I was thinking about Justin, and I said he was ‘cute’. But it only grew louder and louder…” 

“And the first kiss ?” 

“United Nations. After my first speech.” states Emmanuel. 

He decided to be honest. This might be harsh to his wife, but she asked for it, and anyway, there won’t be any positive outcome for this evening. How could there be ? Brigitte is still seated on the couch, her hands joined on her knees, trying to piece the chronology of events. 

“So, when you exchanged birthday gifts for the first time,” she starts “you two were already a thing ?” 

“More or less.” answers the French President “We had only kissed, at the United Nations. And it was still a bit messy in our heads, even though we wanted to try and pursue it further. But as I said… Justin is in a much more complicated position than I am regarding his sexuality.” 

This time he turns to his wife and crosses his arms on his chest. They stare at each other for a moment and she finally dares to ask : 

“When did you two had sex for the first time ?”

“I thought you would have guessed that by yourself, honestly.” answers Emmanuel with a little grin.

“Brégançon ?” she suggests.

“Obviously.” he says “We wanted to take things slow, and it was the perfect occasion for us to take the next step.”

“No wonder you were glowing when you came back.” she chuckles “I guess you two had sex pretty much every time you could ever since ?” 

“Not in Canada.” points out Emmanuel “You busted me wearing his jacket, but we didn’t engage into anything that night.”

“Because you didn’t want to ? Or because it felt too risky doing it with both of your wives under the same roof ?” 

“Because we had other priorities.” explains Emmanuel finally coming back to the couch “And not everything has to be about sex… It’d be much easier if it was only about a physical attraction, trust me…” 

He pauses, looks at her and bites his lip. He cheated on her. Not only physically, but also deep in his heart. He has feelings for someone else. Strong feelings. He is in love with someone else. And that is the ultimate betrayal. 

“What about him ?” she asks “How did he fall for you ?” 

“Honey,” tries Emmanuel “you don’t have to listen to that story. It’s painful, and it is not going to bring you anything.” 

“I need to know.” she replies “Please.” 

He hesitates for a long minute, weighing the pros and cons. But honesty has always been the key between them, and after telling her so much, why not go all the way ? 

“Justin is straight.” he states “Or he thought he was.” he adds “He had a bisexual past, in his very early teenage years, but he buried that and never thought it would come back one day. No one knows, not his mother, not even his wife.” 

“Sophie doesn’t know ?” she exclaims. 

“Not at all. She has no idea he can have any type of attraction for a man.” continues the French President “It took a while for Justin to realize he needed me as more than a friend. But when he did, it became obvious that we both were very much in love with each other, despite everything else.” 

“Did you two discuss the implications of the… relationship you were having ? Did you two discuss what it meant for Sophie and I ?” 

“Very early on.” says Emmanuel “It’s one of the first thing we talked about. Justin loves his wife, you have seen it, you have told me yourself how much it’s blatant... But if Sophie learns about it, she’ll divorce Justin, there is no other possible outcome about this. About you… Well… I knew you could disregard a few one-night stands, but we are talking a whole other dimension here, and I would completely understand if this would break our marriage. I did you wrong. I did you awfully wrong, Brigitte, and I am sorry for this. You deserve a better husband, than I am…” 

She surprises him by taking his hand and he stops talking. He was expecting the very opposite reaction. He is puzzled and a bit confused and she tells him : 

“I have been thinking about this conversation a lot. I thought about all the horrible things I could tell you, about how hurt and betrayed I feel… And then I also thought about how much I like Justin despite all of this, and how valuable he is for you. And how he did not hesitate to endanger your relationship to take care of you when you were sick, in London, a few weeks ago. I realized how happy you are when you talk to him, and how you two work great as a pair. And how unfair it would be to separate you…” 

Emmanuel’s heart is pounding in his chest, loud and deafening. This can’t be happening. This… This is unbelievable.    
  


“I know you love me, Emmanuel. And I love you, with all my heart.” 

“I do love you. I have never stopped loving you.” he whispers. 

“Will you let me talk, for once in your life ?” she chuckles “Shut up, and let me finish.” 

He nods and tries to listen, for once. His hands are sweaty, but she still holds one into her own. And her eyes are… soft ? 

“I know you love me,” she starts again “and I know you love him. I have been doing some researches, I have been talking to people, I have been looking up how this could work, and I have found the word that describes best what you are feeling, and living at the moment… And you and I both know the importance of using the right words at the right moments.” 

She lets silence settle between them for a moment. They both need it, to make peace with their thoughts, and calm their fast-beating hearts. 

“You are polyamorous, Emmanuel.” she says “It means that you feel attracted emotionally, and sexually, by more than one people. It is a type of sexuality, just as you can identify as straight, or bisexual, or gay… It’s uncommon, but not unheard of.” 

“Polyamorous.” repeats her husband making the word roll in his mouth “That sounds… That sounds like me.”

He smiles weakly and looks at her. The word has been pronounced, but it does not solve any of their problems. He betrayed her, he cheated on her, and she has every right to walk away from him right here and now. And she certainly will. Divorce him, and let him live what he needs to live with Justin, as a free man. But does he want that ? He never wanted to make a choice between the two of them, and if he had any choice in the matter, he would keep things as they are : having both Brigitte and Justin in his life. Because he feels great with both, and he loves both with all his heart. 

“I read a lot about this, Emmanuel. I spent hours reading about this, and I’m not even sure I understand it completely, yet, but I am certain that you love both of us.” says Brigitte “And I am even more certain that I love you. And that I don’t want to lose you.” 

“Wait, what ?” exclaims his husband “No. No, no, no.” 

He escapes her and gets on his feet. She can not have said this. This is not possible. He starts pacing through the room, fidgeting nervously, twitching his fingers relentlessly. Impossible. She can not do this to him. She deserves better. He is a bastard, and he deserves nothing but to be signing divorce papers, right here, on the evening of his birthday. She should have walked away long ago even. 

“Emmanuel.” she calls “Please, listen to me.” 

“No. I don’t want to listen to this. It’s nonsense, it’s depreciating yourself, it’s unfair to you, and I don’t want to hear a single word of it.” 

“Sit down !” 

She never raises her voice with him, but that was an order he couldn’t ignore. He sits on the arm of the couch but refuses to look at her. He doesn’t want to hear what she is going to say. This is too unbelievable, and frankly unfair to her. 

“Now you listen to me, and you stop treating me like a child.” she says with a harsh tone “I am your wife, Emmanuel. And I did a lot of thinking. Of course, my first thought went to splitting from you, but our love is far stronger than this, and we have lived through so many things together already. We know that life isn’t a straight path, and love isn’t either…” 

Emmanuel snorts and she frowns at him. Can’t he keep silent for a second ? 

“Sorry.” he says “Go on, please.” 

“I love you, and you love me, why should we ruin that ? But you also love another man, and why should I be the one to ruin that ? To me, things don’t have to change. You have been seeing Justin behind closed doors for two years already, I am not going to be the one to forbid you to continue. I know what it is to repress feelings, we both know what it is to repress feelings, Emmanuel, and I’m not going to ask you to repress your feelings for Justin.”

She takes Emmanuel’s birthday gift and pushes it towards him. 

“Open it.” she instructs. 

Her husband cracks open the kraft paper and opens the box. Inside is a keyring, the shape of a heart, with a picture. He can’t help but grin when he sees it. It is a picture of Justin, Brigitte and him, taken at the Elysée, during Justin’s first official visit. It is symbolical, but that was all she found to symbolize this new freedom she is giving him. 

“That’s my gift for you this year, darling.” says Brigitte “I’m allowing you to continue your relationship with Justin. But no more secrets, we are going to need a whole lot more honesty if we want this to work.” 

“I… I…” stutters the French President, clearly under shock “I don’t know what to say.” 

Tears are rolling down his cheeks and he sets the box aside, to wipe those tears with the back of his sleeves. He feels stupid for crying, he doesn’t even know why he is crying, but a whole lot of emotions are rocking him. Brigitte comes closer to him, and she places her hand on his cheek. He leans into it, closing his eyes, and placing his own hand on hers, with as much love as he is capable of. He loves her. In this moment, he loves her more than he has ever loved anyone. Because she took the time to understand him, and to overlook her own anger, to really try and see what would work best for them. 

“I am sorry for putting you in this position, honey.” he eventually manages to say “No woman should have to make concessions for her husband. And I have been such a bastard to you.” 

“You have been trapped into something you couldn’t control. You didn’t choose to fall in love with him.” she answers “Let’s sit down, and discuss this. I really want to know more about your relationship with Justin, and we need to talk about how this whole thing can work.” 

“Yes.” 

He intertwines fingers with her and brings her hand to his lips. He kisses her palm tenderly and they sit together on the couch, much closer than earlier. Emmanuel took his birthday gift back on his knees and he is playing with the heart-shaped picture piece. 

“I really like that picture.” he says to his wife. 

“I like it as well.” she says “And since we agree on being honest with each other : I like Justin. He’s a great man, and a great friend.” 

“He is. And he was so sorry for having to call you when we were in London.”

“He did the right thing.” 

“I know. But that is what provoked that whole discussion today, isn’t it ?”

“Let’s say it confirmed the suspicions I had, after the shirts incident at the G7.” explains Brigitte “This was a very stupid move from you both… What did he say to his wife ?”

“He said that I cheated on you and got my shirt stained, and that to avoid me getting into trouble we swapped, because he had another one in his car…”

“And she believed him ?” exclaims Brigitte with a laugh “She’s insane. No one would believe this.” 

“It took him a lot of persuasion, but she eventually had no other choice but to believe him. I personally believe she still has doubts, but what can she prove ? She wasn’t there, and no one is going to tell her anything. Everyone knows something happened. Giuseppe Conte has been on Justin’s back during the whole summit about that shirt thing, but if Sophie ever asks, no one is going to say a word.”

“Was it the only mistake you two made ? Or was there some other things I failed to pick up ?”

“When Justin came to France, with his family, in June,” starts Emmanuel recalling the events “the day before the dinner, we had sex in my office, Justin walked out without his socks because we couldn’t find them and he was late. We managed to avoid a major drama thanks to his bodyguard, but we were really close… And we got busted by Xavier Bettel at the United Nations once, last year, while we were arguing, but you know him, he’s a very close friend, and he agreed on keeping the secret.” 

“How many people do know about you ?”

“Not that much.” chuckles Emmanuel “Edouard has always suspected, but I have confirmed it to him a couple of months ago. Bart, Justin’s most trusted bodyguard does know. Xavier Bettel knows, I suppose he told his husband, and I believe Justin opened up about it to Prince Harry in the very early stages of our relationship… Others might have suspicions, but nothing for certain.” 

“A very small circle.” jokes Brigitte. 

“An extremely small one. To protect us. All of us. Justin’s family. You and I…” 

Emmanuel places his gift back on the table in front of them and he kisses his wife tenderly on the lips. Protecting her will be his next challenge into navigating this new situation. 

“What about you ?” he wonders “Do you have other needs ? Have you ever considered anyone but me ?” 

“I haven’t.” she says “You’re enough to me. But I found other interesting words to describe sexualities during my researches…” 

“Oh you did ?”

“We are both sapiosexuals.” she says. 

“Oh !” he exclaims “I know that one ! Marlene Schiappa used it once, in an interview, and it kind of made the buzz online. But I agree. We are… Even though I never felt the need to use words to describe my sexuality before.” 

“It’s trendy.” retorts his wife “And words make things easier. Look at how relieved you are to know that being polyamorous is a thing. And that you are not weirdly enamored with two people at once…” 

“I still feel terrible that you picked the wrong man, honey.” 

“I didn’t. You are sweet and caring Emmanuel. And I don’t love you less because your heart is capable of loving a bit more than it should.” 

Put that way, it sounds lovely. Emmanuel smiles, and she smiles back at him. She made peace with the idea of sharing him days ago, and she tried speaking with him all week long, but he always found a way to escape her, and avoid this embarrassing conversation. But it had to be done, one way or another. 

“What is it, to be with Justin, to date him, I mean ?” she asks. 

“Just like you would imagine.” answers Emmanuel “He is in private, exactly like the man he is in public : charming and caring. I couldn’t find a better man, really. We laugh a lot, but we work amazingly together as well. We understand each other with very few words, and we are not afraid of sometimes pushing each other, and being frank and honest, even if it’s not what the other wants to hear.” 

“It sounds like a balanced relationship.” 

“Hardly.” laughs Emmanuel “We’re reckless teenagers when we are together. It’s very concerning… But we have a set of rules that we try to obey to keep a balance with our marriages.” 

“Rules ?”

“Video-sex one time a week maximum, never in Parliament for Justin,” recites Emmanuel “we don’t call each other on certain dates such as wedding anniversaries or his children birthdays… And at first we tried to keep at one hour per day maximum to call each other, but that sort of broke after a few months… But you can’t see that, because I usually call him at night, because of the time difference.” 

“Sophie told me you two spend a lot of time talking together. And their kids have picked that up. You somehow managed to create a kind of relationship with them… Xavier likes you I think…” 

“Oh. About that…” says Emmanuel, remembering his last encounter with the young teen “That kid is smart. He knows I am bisexual, but he doesn’t know about his father’s inclinations.” 

“All three of their children are incredibly intelligent and well-educated. Be careful around them, please. It could destroy their family, you know how painful a divorce can be on children.” 

“I know. And Justin knows it too.” 

Emmanuel kisses her softly and they keep discussing how this new arrangement could work : 

“So… Have you thought about how things are going to change ?” asks Emmanuel. 

“Do they have to change ? You are already calling your… boyfriend ? Is that the word you are using ?”

“Yes.” 

“You are already calling him everyday, that doesn’t have to change, I’m in bed when it happens, so I don’t really mind. But now I will know what really happens when you two are chatting…” 

She smirks and Emmanuel blushes slightly. 

“Has there been a lot of sex during these video calls ?” she wonders. 

“Once a week, at least. When we haven’t seen each other for real.” 

“And when you do see each other, is it worth it ?”

“Yes.” confesses Emmanuel “A lot. But that doesn’t change anything between us. I don’t want for anything to change between us…” 

He caresses her cheek and she smiles at him. Things won’t change. 

“When you two are travelling as bachelors, you can act like you always had…” she continues “When I am here… It might have to be something we need to discuss.” 

“When you are here, you are my wife, and that’s it.” brushes off Emmanuel. 

“But you two aren’t seeing each other that often, maybe we could find some solution that could arrange all of us ?” 

“We’ll talk about it when the situation presents itself, okay ?”

“Okay.” she agrees “I’m trying to make it as easy as possible for all of us.” 

“Talking about this, do you want to have a talk with Justin in the coming days ?”

“I don’t know. Is it necessary ? If you want us to have a talk, all three of us, I’m not against it, but I don’t mind if you two have this conversation on your own. Where is he at the moment, by the way ?” 

“Costa Rica.” says Emmanuel “I had him on the phone earlier today, for my birthday. He’s surfing, with his family.” 

“Maybe…” she starts “Maybe this talk can wait until after Christmas.” 

“Yes.” agrees Emmanuel “I was thinking just the same. I’ll have this chat with him after his birthday…” 

“Good. I really want you guys to know that you have an ally in me. I know that you didn’t choose to fall in love, and that you had no intention of hurting either Sophie or I… And I can share you, a little bit, Emmanuel.” 

“I don’t deserve a wife as incredible as you are, Brigitte. I always knew you were special, I just didn’t know at what point until now. I love you. I really love you. And I am going to love you both, with force, and passion.”

“I have no doubts about this.” she answers. 

He leans forward and kisses her, with his hand on her cheek, and his lips slightly parted as an invitation for more. Her tongue finds his own and their kiss turns into something more passionate, more desperate. They find back this intimacy, this proximity they lacked these past couple of weeks. They are in love, and nothing will break this. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ? Heavy chapter once again but ESSENTIAL don't you think ? What did you think of that much needed conversation between Emmanuel and Brigitte ? Briggite's reaction ? The way she corners Emmanuel to force him to talk ? Emmanuel's reluctance and bewilderment ? The birthday gift ? The fact that Brigitte made researches and that she took the time to try to understand ? The "polyamorous" definition she labels Emmanuel with ? How Emmanuel reacts to all of this ? The fact that he keeps telling her that he loves her, despite all of this ? Emmanuel being ready to face a divorce because he thinks he deserves it ? 
> 
> What do you think will happen in the next chapter ? How do you think Justin will react to this news ?


	28. December 27th 2019 - Costa Rican coast - Midlife crisis ?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That chapter deals with the Costa Rican break of the Trudeaus. I always assumed that something must have happened there, because you don't come back with a totally different style (aka the beard) for no reason. Here's my theory. You can agree, you can disagree, but here's my take on it. And it fits perfectly with the fic ;) 
> 
> \--------
> 
> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.
> 
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 28 : King of fools - Poets of the fall

“Well done, son !” says Justin high-fiving Xavier “That was really great ! You have improved into keeping your balance.” 

“Thanks, Dad !” exclaims the young teen picking up his board. 

The Canadian PM kisses him on the forehead, and for once, his eldest son doesn’t push him away. They shared a father-son surfing session, and it was a good bonding moment for both of them. Sophie was surfing with them earlier on, but she went back earlier inside the villa they are renting for the holidays, with Ella-Grace and Hadrien, to make the two youngest children take their shower. Ella and Didi are still a bit too young to be surfing, and they spend their afternoon bodyboarding in the waves, under the amused gaze of their grandmother, Margaret, Justin’s mother, who joined them in Costa Rica two days ago. But Xavier insisted on taking on surfing this year. And he was good at it. 

“Could you help me ?” asks Justin turning his back to his son, so he can lower the zipper on the back of his surfing suit 

“Sure.” 

Xavier opens up his father’s suit and goes back to the house, with his board under his arm. Justin stays on the beach, because he has scheduled a call with his boyfriend. He warned his family that after his surfing session, he’ll try calling his best friend, because they haven’t talked much since he arrived in Costa Rica. Justin throws his board on the sand, he lowers his surfing suit to his waist, exposing his tanned skin to the tropical sun, and he picks up his beach towel, to wipe his face, and try to arrange his curly hair, even if he knows how much it’s vain. The salty water of the ocean made his curls come back prominently, and he stopped fighting on his birthday, giving up on his hairstyle for the holidays period. It’ll get better when he comes back to Canada. He sits down on his surfboard and takes his phone to call Emmanuel. His boyfriend picks up almost instantly : he must have been waiting for this call. 

“Hello, surfer boy !” jokes the French President. 

“Good evening, Emmanuel.” chuckles Justin in response “Wait…” 

He picks up his sunglasses and adjusts them on his nose. 

“Better.” he says “How are you ?” 

“I’m good. What about you ? How’s Costa Rica ?” 

“Amazing.” admits the Canadian.

Emmanuel is wearing a dark green jumper, and jeans, and he is slouching on a couch in the private apartments in the Elysée Palace. 

“What are you doing ?” asks Justin 

“Polishing my New Year speech.” says the French “But we have more important things to talk about. Are you alone ? And seated ?”

“I am.” laughs his boyfriend “What’s so important ? You insisted so much on having this call with me.” 

“Brigitte and I talked a lot, on my birthday and since.” 

“Oh.” frowns Justin “Good or bad news ?” 

“More than good.” smirks the French President pausing for a few seconds, savouring the suspense “I came clean to her about my relationship with you, not that she wasn’t already very aware about what was happening. Your call, when we were in London, achieved to convince her on what she had been suspecting for a while already.”

“I am so sorry about this.” says the Canadian “So sorry.” 

“Listen to me. She knew something deeper than just sex was going on between us, and she made her researches : we are what is called polyamorous. It is when you are in love with several individuals at once. It turns out that we can perfectly love our wives and each other at the same time. It is uncommon, and unconventional, but it happens…” 

“There’s a word for this ?” exclaims his boyfriend. 

“Yes. And what I was so eager to tell you is that…” 

Emmanuel stops, thinks about the best way to phrase this and starts again : 

“Brigitte offered me the greatest birthday gift ever this year : she’s allowing me to continue seeing you, as my boyfriend. She understood that I could love you both at the same time, and that nothing had to change between her and I, and that I could keep seeing you behind closed doors during my travels…” 

Justin is speechless. This is insane. Completely unbelievable. Brigitte should have left Emmanuel, divorced him, not complied and accepted to be cheated on. This is… 

“Do you realize how insane, and utterly unbelievable this sound ?” he manages to mumble.

“I know. It took me a while to realize.” says his boyfriend to him “But my wife is incredible. And trust me, I didn’t believe her at first, I was more than ready to sign the divorce papers, I deserved it… After all that I did to her. But she says she can share me a little. And she knows our love for each other is something we can’t control.” 

“Love, this is…” 

Once more, the Canadian is speechless. He sighs and ruffles his hair with one hand. Emmanuel is grinning from ear to ear on his screen, but he can’t do the same. He feels the wrong of the situation. Brigitte and Sophie are two incredible women, and they are cheating on them, and it is wrong. Their marriages are worthless if they think they can get away with this. No matter what Emmanuel says. Polyamorous… What a weird word… 

“Is your wife home ?” suddenly asks Justin to his boyfriend 

“Yes.” answers a feminine voice in the background behind Emmanuel 

“I’d like to talk to her.” adds the Canadian “Please.”

Brigitte appears next to her husband, and Emmanuel wraps an arm around her shoulders. 

“Good evening, Brigitte.” sighs Justin thrown a bit off-balance by this unusual view “I… This… God, this is so strange.” 

“It feels extremely weird for me as well.” she chuckles in response “But I can imagine your doubts, Justin. I can’t tell you what to do, and how to live your life, but please, don’t feel any guilt about me, or my marriage with Emmanuel.” 

“Why ? Why are you doing this ?” asks the Canadian Prime Minister “Why are you endangering your happiness for us ?”

“I am not.” she corrects “And Emmanuel needs us both to be happy. Let’s try to look at this whole… situation as team work.” 

“Team work.” laughs Emmanuel shaking his head “That’s one way to see it.”

“How could this work ?” questions Justin a bit more seriously. 

“The same way it has worked until now.” explains Emmanuel “We both live our lives, but when we are in international gatherings, we find a way to sneak out, and steal some moments… And we keep calling each other, and being there for the other, as boyfriends… Nothing has to change.” 

“Except me knowing.” says Brigitte with a smile “And agreeing on you two having a romantic relationship.” 

“I don’t know what to say, Brigitte,” starts Justin “you truly are one of a kind. Emmanuel was right when he told me so.” 

“I’ll let you two discuss.” she answers “Thanks for putting a smile on my husband’s lips, Justin.”

“Thank you for not divorcing him.” chuckles the Canadian. 

She kisses Emmanuel on the lips and leaves him to chat with his boyfriend. Emmanuel looks at Justin and arches an eyebrow. Justin sighs and eventually smiles. 

“So we keep going in our mischief ?” he says. 

“More than ever. I haven’t felt so good in years.” says the French “And I know you are not there yet in your life, but being honest and open with my wife liberated something in me…” 

“You know that it’s not at all something possible with Sophie. And that she doesn’t even know about my bisexuality.” 

“I know.”

“And yet…” 

“Yet ?” exclaims Emmanuel a bit surprised. 

“Being here, on those white beaches, I felt more present to myself than ever, and even if I’m spending an amazing time with my family, I feel strangely disconnected from them. Sophie ignores a part of me that makes a huge part of who I truly am… And I am hiding you, when you are making me insanely happy and balanced…”

“You are not completely hiding me.” laughs Emmanuel “They know we are best friends.” 

“Talking about that,” says Justin who saw movement on the threshold of their house “Please behave, you’ll get the chance of meeting my mother.” 

“Lucky me.” jokes Emmanuel. 

The French nonetheless arranges his hair and sits straighter on the sofa, knowing how much Justin’s mother is important to his boyfriend. Margaret came out of the villa looking for her son. She approached him, hesitating, noticing he’s still on the line with someone, but her son motionned her to come closer. 

“Mom, I don’t think I ever introduced you to Emmanuel, did I ?”

“I did not get this chance, no.” she says waving at the French president “But I heard a lot about you, young man.” 

“I heard a lot about you too. And I am not that young, anymore.” laughs Emmanuel “It’s really nice that you could join your son for the second week of their holidays. Justin couldn’t stop talking about how excited he was to have you around.” 

“Did you ?” asks Margaret to her son.

“Of course !” answers Justin. 

“Well, I am glad to be here too. And I am sorry, but you should get back inside to take your shower, or we’ll never be in the restaurant on time.” 

“Sure, Mom.” nods Justin “I’ll be there in a minute.” 

She smiles, nods at Emmanuel and returns to the villa. Justin grins and says to his boyfriend : 

“It’s good to have her around. And the kids are delighted to be spending time with their grandmother.” 

“What kid wouldn’t ?!” exclaims Emmanuel “You should get going, if they are waiting on you. I’m glad we had this conversation, honey.”

“I am so happy we did, love.” smirks Justin “And I am counting the days until we can see each other again.” 

“Same here. Have a nice evening, and enjoy your holidays, I keep my phone with me, but please don’t feel obligated to call me.” 

“I never feel obligated. I call you because I want to.” 

“Good to know. I love you, Justin.” 

“I love you too, Emmanuel. Good night.” 

“Good evening, Justin.”

They hang up, and the Canadian picks up his belongings. He places his board back in the rack by the house and enters inside. 

“I was on the line with France.” he explains to his wife, stealing a quick kiss from her lips “I’ll hop into the shower and get changed, and then we can go.” 

“Isn’t it night in France ?” she answers. 

“And ? We’re talking about Emmanuel…” he jokes.

“Right. The man never sleeps.” she laughs. 

“Can I choose your clothes ?” demands Ella-Grace. 

“Of course, princess.” smiles her father “Just pick up whatever you want me to be wearing, and place it on my bed.” 

“Yes !” 

She has been complaining about his lack of fashion sense lately, and insisted on freshening his wardrobe more and more. Here, during the holidays, he let her choose what he was wearing, adopting a casual style. He hadn’t been shaving for a few days either, and this neglected style was far from the suits and ties he was wearing on a daily basis in Parliament. Hadrien is doing a puzzle with his grandmother, and Xavier is playing on the tablet, Sophie reading a book on the veranda. Ella-Grace dove into his suitcase and picked up white shorts and a blue and white flowery shirt. Very beach-style. 

“Thank you.” he says to her “I’ll look… Trendy ?”

“You’ll look fine, Dad !” 

He hugs her, but she pulls out of his arms, protesting : 

“You’re still wet, Dad !” 

“Sorry.” he apologizes “I’ll go shower, now.” 

He comes back to his family twenty minutes later, showered and in clean clothes. Ella-Grace winks at him, and he grins. He does look nice in the clothes she chose for him. He left the top buttons of his shirt open, and put on a pair a sneakers, ready to take his family in town for dinner in a restaurant. But his head is clouded with what he discussed earlier with his boyfriend. He misses Emmanuel, more than he cares to admit, and being allowed to date him by Brigitte is an important step in their relationship. But what bothers him more is what he said to his lover after that : not having told his wife about his bisexuality yet. It’s a weight that he feels heavier and heavier on his shoulders, and it’s pulling him away, slowly but surely from Sophie. Not being entirely himself to his relatives is something unbearable, and even if it protects his relationship with Emmanuel, it’s eating him from within. 

An hour later, the family is seated at a restaurant, along the beach. Sophie has an arm on the back of Justin’s chair, and her hand is reaching for Justin’s curls in his neck while they are waiting for their plates. He tilts his head and escapes this touch. 

“Please don’t.” he says to her with a smile “You know I hate that…” 

“It’s tempting. Your curls are back.” she replies “And you know I can’t resist your curly hair…” 

“I need a haircut.” he brushes off.

“Don’t you dare.” she warns. 

“I think you look great.” adds Margaret backing up her daughter-in-law. 

“I wonder how you’d look with a shaved head.” says Xavier with a smirk. 

“We could both shave our heads.” suggests Justin entering in his son’s joke. 

“Eew, no.” reacts Ella-Grace “Please, no.” 

She glances at her big brother like he was insane and shakes her head. Sophie looks at them both, and then at their youngest son ; she is proud of the children they are all becoming. She smiles at Justin, but he seems a bit preoccupied since he came back from his surfing session. 

“Are you alright ?” she asks him “Tired ?”

“I’m fine.” he answers “I’m fine…”

“You don’t look fine.” continues Sophie “What’s this about ? Work ? Home ? Surf ? Emmanuel ?” 

She threw his best friend's name in the mix, remembering he had him on the phone before his shower. Maybe they argued, or discussed some tough topic that bothers him now. 

“Is it because you didn’t get your birthday gift ?” she jokes. 

Justin had indeed completely forgotten to let his boyfriend know they were going away for the holidays, and he only realized, in horror, when they were in the plane, over the United States. But it was too late already. And his birthday gift, from Emmanuel, is safely waiting for him at Rideau cottage. 

“It’s not as if you two had been exchanging gifts and packages for two years now…” she teases him “You’ll get it when we come back home, don’t worry.” 

He sticks his tongue out at her, making Hadrien giggle, and his mother frown. The waiter brings their plates and as they start eating, Justin says : 

“We should take a picture of us tonight.” 

“What for ?” wonders his wife “I thought we said no social media, to keep our holidays under the radar.”

“Not everything has to go public, Soph’.” he laughs “But we could let our friends and family at home know we’re doing fine.” 

She pauses, grins and adds : 

“You’re going to send it to Emmanuel, won’t you ?” 

“Of course !” exclaims Justin with a smile “To Emmanuel and Brigitte.” 

“Why do you always send him pictures, but he never sends anything back ?” teases Sophie 

“But he does.” frowns Justin “He does send pictures and videos from his holidays.” 

Sophie never saw any of those. They keep eating in silence but she thinks about this, wondering why Justin hid this from her. What does it mean ? 

“You are overthinking this Sophie.” says Justin “I never showed them to you, because you never cared, and never asked.” 

“Oh. And what did your best friend do during his holidays, then ?”

“He went skiing !” exclaims Ella-Grace “Dad and I laughed during half an hour, last week, at a video of a man he passed by, and who was skiing so poorly !” 

“And I saw the pictures of Brigitte and Emmanuel in their skiing gear !” adds Hadrien “Dad said he will buy me the same coat as Emmanuel for next winter.” 

“Oh, did he ?” exclaims Sophie turning to her husband. 

“Sorry.” mutters Justin “But it looks incredible, you’ll see. And I was not lying, Emmanuel does send pictures to me, just like I do.” 

“You don’t need to play grumpy on me because I didn’t know.” she pouts.

“I don’t.” he smiles.

They kiss each other and Justin catches a disgusted glance from Xavier. Their kids really hate seeing them kiss in public, especially if the kiss is really passionate. Thankfully, that one was not. 

“It’s pretty unusual for head of states to be that close, no ?” asks Margaret to her son. 

“It is.” admits Justin “But Emmanuel and I are so much alike, it was… we were…” 

“Why are you blushing, Dad ?” jokes Xavier. 

“Because he’s looking for his words, as usual, when it comes to the exceptional and surprising French President.” teases Sophie. 

The irony was strong, and Justin shakes his head. He ignores Sophie and answers to his mother. 

“Emmanuel and I have an unusual friendship, but I believe that it helps us being better in our politics. We got elected in our respective countries because people wanted a change, and new faces, a new style of politics, and that’s what we proposed them. So here we are, and we are ambitious, and we want to make the world a better place for future generations, because we know that we are not only building it for ourselves, but mostly for our children, or grandchildren.” 

“And it seems that you are both doing a great job.” nods his mother. 

“We are doing the best we can.” says Justin “And you know how hard it can be, sometimes.” 

“I know.” says his mother “But you are good Justin, you are very good.” 

She smiles at him, and he smiles back. His re-election campaign has been complicated, but he managed to keep his Prime Minister position. And he’ll lead the country as best as he can for another four years. 

“And where is he now ?” asks Sophie who finished her plate. 

“Why does every question have to be about Emmanuel, tonight ?” sighs Justin “He’s in France, back at the Palace, like every end of year.” 

“It’s because your phone call with him turned you upside down.” jokes Sophie. 

“No, it didn’t.” protests his husband. 

He failed at catching the joke, and his children all burst into laughter. He bites his lip and tries his best not to blush. Tonight is tricky, and he is walking down a slippery lane not to betray his secret relationship with Emmanuel. But no one seems to suspect anything. 

“You see,” laughs Sophie while the waiter removes their empty plates “I told you it disturbed you. I know you by heart, honey.” 

“You do.”

“I know all of you, Justin.” 

“No, you don’t.” 

It slipped through his mouth quicker than he expected and she frowns at him. 

“We’ve been married for fourteen years, Justin, what can I possibly ignore about you ?” 

In Justin’s brain, all of those years of lying suddenly resurface, and it becomes unbearable. What he talked about with Emmanuel earlier in the day is on the edge of his lips, and it suddenly feels so easy to just spill the truth… But it may change everything… She looks at him with an air of defiance and it angers him. 

“I am bisexual, Sophie !” he roars, slamming his fists on the table. 

She stares at him, bewildered, for a long while, and silence settles at their table. 

“What’s bisex…” starts Hadrien.

“Not now, Didi.” cuts Margaret sensing the tension between her son and daughter-in-law. 

Justin gets up and leaves the table, his family still stunned and silent, and he goes out of the restaurant terrace to walk on the beach, under the moonlight. He needs to cool down. This wasn’t at all how he planned on revealing this big news, he hadn’t even really envisioned telling them tonight, but his instinct kicked in. And maybe it’s for the best. At their table, Sophie buried her face into her hands, and none of the kids is daring to speak. 

“Did you know ?” finally asks Sophie to her mother-in-law. 

“Absolutely not. But he might have said that to piss you off…”

“Oh, he was very serious.” replies Sophie. 

She stops when she sees the waiter hesitating next to their table. 

“Will you be taking desserts ?” he questions when she finally acknowledges him. 

“Yes.” she answers “Margaret ?”

“Ice-cream for me, the fruity mix.”

“Same for me.” adds Ella-Grace.

“Chocolate ice-cream for me.” says Xavier.

“Vanilla ice-cream.” adds Hadrien. 

“Vanilla, too.” sighs Sophie gathering the menus and handing them back to the waiter. 

He hesitates again and eventually asks : 

“And for your husband ?”

“He’ll chose when he comes back.” she smiles at him “If he comes back.” she mutters once he is gone. 

Margaret does her best to divert the kids attention on something else during the rest of their meal, but Justin doesn’t come back. He vanished from their view, walking along the beach, and they begin to wonder if they should wait for him to go back to their cabin when he finally lets himself down on his chair, next to his wife. 

“Sorry.” he says “I needed fresh air.” 

“Do you want a dessert ?” asks Margaret “A coffee ? Something to drink ?” 

“I’m good.” he answers, avoiding her gaze, and Sophie’s one “If you are too, I suggest we head back home.” 

“Let’s do this.” sighs his wife “Since you so wonderfully blessed our evening.” 

She gives him a dead stare, and he goes pay for their dinner, as if nothing happened. The ride back to their villa is tense, but Justin does his best to crack jokes with his children, and act as the cool father he is. And it seems to work. They all unboard the car, and Sophie heads straight for their bedroom, needing a moment for herself. Justin asks his children to go put their pajama on, while he speaks with his mother in the kitchen. 

“I am so sorry I snapped like that, Mom.” he immediately apologized once they are alone “I don’t know what went through my mind, but I had to say it.” 

“Are you really bisexual ?”

“Yes.” he nods “I have always been.”

“And you kept that a secret all your life ?” she exclaims “Why ?”

“Because I was scared. Because I knew the shitstorm it would provoke the day I would come out… Look at how Sophie reacted…”

“She’s your wife, Justin, of course she’s a bit puzzled by all this. And you threw this at her face with no explanation.”

“This is not at all how I thought I would talk about it…” sighs the Canadian Prime Minister “But I was tired of keeping the secret.” 

His mother takes him into her arms and hugs him, like she used to hug him when he was a little boy. She’ll support him, no matter what. And it doesn’t change anything that Justin is bisexual. Their hug is interrupted by the children, back from their rooms for bedtime kisses and hugs. 

“Good night, Xavier.” says Justin taking his eldest in his arms “I’m sorry if I ruined the evening.” 

“Are you okay, Dad ?”

“I am.” answers Justin. 

“And Mom ? Is she okay ?”

“She will be.” replies his father “But you can understand, I’m sure, that she is a bit surprised… Why don’t you go and see if she’d like a hug before bed ?” 

He nods and Justin takes Ella-Grace against his heart. He kisses her on the forehead and notices she doesn’t seem to be doing okay. 

“Princess,” he starts “you know that you can talk to me if something is bothering you.” 

She sighs and sits on a nearby chair. Justin grabs Hadrien by under the armpits and he sits him on the kitchen table. Margaret disappeared, to let him discuss with them alone. 

“Is Mom angry with you ?” questions Ella-Grace. 

“Probably.” admits Justin “But you know that all couples do sometimes fight, and disagree, and that it doesn’t mean they love each other less.” 

“Do you still love her ?” continues the little girl. 

“Of course !” answers Justin with no hesitation “I love your mother very much. I have loved her for fifteen years, and it’s not about to stop anytime soon.” 

“Good.” says Ella with a little smile. 

“What does bisexual mean, Dad ?” asks Hadrien who didn’t get to ask his question until now 

“It means that you can be attracted both to men and women, indifferently.” explains his father 

“Oh.” mutters the young boy with his mouth forming a perfect circle. 

“Time to go to bed now,” announces Justin “and we’ll talk about that again tomorrow if you have more questions. Deal ?”

“Deal !” says Ella “Goodnight, Dad !” 

He kisses her goodnight and lets her go. He hugs Hadrien for some time and lets him go as well after that. He then takes a beer in the fridge and opens it, throwing the cap in the sink. He unbuttons his shirt and goes sit under the patio, drinking his beer from the bottle, gazing at the stars, wondering if he should go and try talking to Sophie right now. Is it worth it ? Or is it better if they both wait until the morning ? 

“You almost look like a hobo.” says Sophie leaning against the doorframe of the entrance door of their villa. 

“I’ll try to consider this as a compliment.” he smirks “Sit, please.” 

Sophie sits in front of him, at the other end of the steps, careful to not touch him. He can read how much she resents him, and how angry she is, but he doesn’t care anymore. His truth is out, and even though it was messy, it liberated him in some way. 

“It’s really true ?” is her first question. 

“Yes Sophie, I’m bisexual. I have always been. And I have always known, but buried it, because I believed it was wrong…” 

“There’s nothing wrong with being bisexual, Justin.”

“Thirty years ago, the world was a whole different place, Sophie.” 

“Why now ? Why did you have to make a scene like that, at the restaurant ? Leave me like a fool at the table ?” 

“I had not planned on telling you like that. I had not planned on telling you at all, in fact. And it’s not about you, Sophie, it’s about me. I needed to say it, to let the truth out…”

“But why now ? Are you seeing someone ? Did you want to bang one of those young waiters up there ?”

“No, but I talked with Emmanuel, and it got me thinking.”

“Of course !” she exclaims with irony “He’s bi too, isn’t he ? Of course he has to be.” 

“It has nothing to do with me coming out. But yes, Emmanuel is bi, and he has always been very openly talking about it in his closest circle of friends, and I have been ashamed all this time to not even be able to say the same to my wife. Do you realize how many times we’ve marched to pride together and that I have looked at you in the eyes and not confessed being bisexual ? You are my wife, Sophie. What was I afraid of ?” 

“Does it change something between us ? Do you want to leave me ? What am I to you, a joke ? An experiment ?”

“FOR GOD’S SAKE SOPHIE !” shouts Justin, pissed off by her attitude “ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME ? Not everything has to be about you ! It’s about me ! Me ! Being myself : entirely, completely, truly myself for the first time in my entire existence. I hid that to everyone. Everyone ! No one knew, not even my mother, Sophie !” 

He drinks half of his beer, trying to calm his nerves, and she swallows her spit several times, containing tears and anger at the same time. 

“And you had to ruin our perfect holidays by announcing it like that ? Do you also want to make a public announcement of it ?”

“No. I don’t know. I don’t care.” stutters Justin “I only wanted you, my closest relatives, to know about it.”

“What about our children ? Will they be allowed to talk about it ? Will they have to shut up about it ? Will you explain to Hadrien what it means at least ?” 

“Can you stop freaking out for a second ?!” roars Justin “We will answer the children’s questions, like we always do. But right now, I am telling you about me ! ABOUT ME !”

“Fine.” she sighs “If we can’t talk about it…” 

She gets up and goes back inside the house, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He finishes his beer bottoms up, and draws his phone out of his jeans pocket. He doesn’t hesitate for long, and he sends a quick text to his boyfriend. 

**_I told them I am bi. Sophie is angry, but I am happy the truth is finally out. There’ll be a few rocky days ahead, but I think I’ll manage._ **

**_I love you. I am crazy about you, Emmanuel. Thanks for being part of my life._ **

His boyfriend calls him less than three minutes later. Justin picks up the call immediately, and he gets up, to close the door of the house, so that no one can hear his conversation. But to be more certain about this, he gets rid of his sneakers and walks down the beach while talking with the French. His shirt is flowing with the ocean breeze, and the messy curls atop his head are for once not bothering him that much. He almost feels like a new man. A completely different one at least. 

“Hello.” he says. 

“Good evening.” says Emmanuel “How do you feel ?”

“Confused.” admits Justin “Angry that I announced it in such a messy and provocative way, but relieved that I finally told them. I don’t really know, it’s not such a big deal, is it ?”

“It shouldn't be. But I can understand that Sophie thinks otherwise. She married a straight man she thought she knew.” 

“You’re defending my wife now ? That’s new.” 

“I am not defending her.” argues Emmanuel. 

Justin hears Brigitte laugh behind her husband and even the French President struggles to keep composure. Emmanuel being on Sophie’s side is absurd and really unusual. 

“I understand the surprise, especially given how events unfold.” sighs Justin “But she is pissed as me. As if me being bi was an offense to her…” 

“Is it ?”

“No. Well… Technically it isn’t. It shouldn’t be if I wasn’t dating you.” 

“Then she should be supporting you, in being true to yourself.” encourages Emmanuel “Will you expose this part of your life to the public eye as well ?”

“No, I don’t think it would be wise.” 

“I agree.” laughs Emmanuel “Trust me, this would be disastrous. Why do you think I kept it a secret ? And even if it’s a secret, I still got paired with pretty much anyone. Even you !” 

They both laugh, and Justin who stopped with his feet in the calm water says : 

“I love you Emmanuel. I’m sorry for not saying this as much as you’d like to hear it.”

“Hey !” answers the French “I hear melancholia in your voice, and I don’t like it. Please, don’t do this to me, honey. Everything you say, or do, screams your love to me. You don’t have to prove how much you’re in love to me.” 

“But I feel like you are much better at this than me. And you deserve a boyfriend that is able to show you how much he loves you. Someone cute, and cheesy. Not like me.”

“Justin… Are you drunk ?” 

“No. Not really…” 

He hates to admit but he probably is. At least a little bit. While he vanished from the dinner table, he went to a beach bar and got a couple of strong drinks to dismiss his uneasiness. And he feels a bit dizzy now. But mostly drunk in love with his boyfriend. 

“Justin, you need to sleep.” sighs Emmanuel “You had a rough evening, and you argued with your wife. You’ll feel better tomorrow probably. And I don’t need anyone else but you. You are the boyfriend I want.” 

“Are you sure about that ?”

“I’m sure. I love you Justin. You.” 

“Thanks. I love you too, Emmanuel.” 

“Now go to bed, please.” 

“Fine…” sighs the Canadian “Talk to you later ?”

“If you want to, yes.” 

“Bye then.” 

He hangs up and goes back to the house. He doesn’t want to sleep next to Sophie. That would be too painful for both of them. Thankfully, there’s a hamac under the patio, so he hops into it, and makes himself comfortable, rocked by the sound of the waves, he falls asleep in no time. 

When Sophie wakes up, very early, she realizes that her husband did not come join her in their conjugal bed. Not that she expected anything else. She gets up in the silent house and prepares herself a cup of coffee. Everyone is still asleep, and she enjoys this moment of quietness to herself. Sure, Justin’s revelation moved her yesterday evening, and especially the way he broke the news, but her husband is a bit lost and confused, he had a rough year, and the aftermath of his reelection probably sent him down the path of his midlife crisis. She knew this would come, she had been lucky until now, but eventually, she would face those existential questions, and this desire to throw his life upside down. She goes outside the villa, looking for her husband, who isn’t sleeping on the sofa as she previously thought he was, and she is surprised to find him already riding the waves. He abandoned his clothes under the patio, jumping into his suit as soon as the sun came out, and he grabbed his board on the beach for a morning session. She stays there, her elbows resting on the handrail, above the steps going down to the beach, thinking about the nightmare of an evening they had the previous day. She loves Justin, unconditionally : straight or bisexual makes no difference to her, even though she would have preferred to know beforehand, but she thinks about their children, and the billion of questions they will have. And the fact that they saw them argue and get angry at each other… And that is something she can’t forgive Justin for. Not yet… Her husband finished surfing and he is heading back towards the house, in which she can hear her mother in law preparing breakfast for the kids. But she doesn’t want to face him just now. She still needs time to process and think. She goes back inside the house, and heads straight for the bathroom, to take a shower. 

Justin comes back to the villa, after his early surfing session. It helped him clear his thoughts. Yesterday evening didn’t go at all like he expected it, and he owes an explanation and apologies to his family. He places his board back in the rack, goes back inside the house, mechanically picks up his wedding ring, that he always takes off when he surfs, in the cup at the entrance of the house. He looks down at it, stares at it, looks at his hand, and he drops the ring back inside the cup. First, he needs to sort things out with his wife. Her reaction hurt him very much. He felt invalidated as the person he is, and he is afraid he might lose her over this revelation. Which was not his intention at all. He simply wanted to be honest. 

“Good morning Mom.” he says entering in the kitchen and kissing her on the cheek 

“Good morning.” she answers “Did you sleep well ?” 

“I slept okay.” he answers “Good morning Hadrien.” 

He ruffles his son’s hair, making the boy giggle. He kisses his sleepy daughter on the forehead and Xavier on the cheek. He lets himself down on a chair, and they have breakfast all together. They can hear the water running in the bathroom, indicating that Sophie is taking her shower. Justin saw her under the patio while he was surfing, he almost hoped she would come down on the beach and talk to him, but maybe he was expecting too much. Maybe the communication is really broken between them. When Sophie erupts into the kitchen, fifteen minutes later, she looks at Justin for a second, and she then says : 

“Could we all meet in the living-room when you’re done with breakfast ? I think we could use a family council. We all need to talk after what happened yesterday and…”

“We’re coming.” answers Justin with a smile “You’re right, Sophie, we need to talk.” 

He noticed that Xavier stayed unusually silent during his breakfast, and it worried him slightly. They need to tackle this subject together, as a family. They finish having breakfast, and move to the living-room. The three children sit together on the couch, Xavier between his siblings, in a very protective position, an arm around Hadrien’s shoulders, the other one around Ella-Grace's. Sophie sits down on one of the armchairs, Margaret sits on the couch, next to her grandchildren, and Justin stays standing, very aware that he needs to face his family for this discussion to come. 

“Before we start,” he says “I’d like to express my regrets on how yesterday evening unfolded. I wasn’t planning on placing you all in such a position, and on revealing my bisexuality that way. I know it came as a shock to all of you, and I am sorry if it was a bit sudden, but I needed to get it out of my system.” 

“At least, it’s out.” laughs Sophie “In all the possible meanings of that word.”

She sighs and turns to her children. Apparently, she thought about what to say to them : 

“First and foremost, being bisexual is not wrong, and there is nothing to be ashamed of. That being said, it happens, often, that around your father’s age, and after exhausting time like what we just lived, with the campaign, the election, when we go through big and important steps in life that we can get a little lost and confused and…”

“I AM NEITHER LOST NOR CONFUSED !” screams Justin who can’t believe what he just heard “God, Sophie, haven’t you understood at all what we talked about yesterday ? At all ?” 

“Hey !” cuts Margaret “Enough with the screaming ! Both of you. Wasn’t the point of this meeting to talk, and set things straight ?” 

Her natural authority helps Justin cool down a little bit and he closes his eyes for a second to not let his emotions take the best of him. He needs to stay in control. 

“I am not lost, Sophie, despite what you may think.” he eventually says “I am perfectly clear with myself for the first time in my life. And I am ready to answer whatever question any of you may have. Because I know it might be a lot to take on…”

“Are you going to divorce ?” blurts out Xavier, unable to keep his interrogations silent anymore.

“No !” immediately exclaims Justin “Of course not !” 

He frowns and turns to Sophie who smiles at him, with an unconvinced glance. 

“I mean…” he continues “This is not at all my intention. I love your mother very much, Xavier. I am crazy about her, I have always been, and I always will be, me being true about who I am changes nothing to that. But your mother and I will need to talk, a lot during the coming days, that’s for sure.” 

“Are you attracted to men, then ?” asks the young teenager.

“Not currently. I am not attracted to anyone, but your mother. And I am not going to leave her. I am sorry if I may have given you any other impression…” 

“Has there been any man in your life ?” dares to asks Justin’s mother. 

“Yes.” sighs Justin sitting down on the arm of the sofa “But I was a teenager, and I never told him. Since then, there has only been women.” 

“Then why did you choose to break the news to us now ?” wonders Sophie. 

“I had been thinking a lot lately.” explains Justin “It is something I wish I could have told you sooner, and with all that has happened in our lives lately, and you were right on this point, Sophie, it might be sort of a midlife crisis, and with the new year approaching, we’re entering in a new decade, and I wanted to mark this change by being true to the people I love. But that doesn’t mean anything has to change between us.” 

He turns to his wife and adds : 

“I love you Sophie, and that truth being out doesn’t mean I would love you less. Please, believe me on that point.” 

“Then why aren’t you wearing your wedding ring ?” she points out.

“I wanted to have this family discussion first. And since we’re probably going back to surfing anyway…” 

He chuckles, and she smiles. They look back at their children and Justin says : 

“Do you have more questions ?”

“Are you going to talk about it in public, Dad ?” wonders Ella.

“No.” answers her father “I don’t think it would be wise. And I’d rather have you three no telling anyone about this. Not because I am ashamed of it, okay ? But because it is something private, and I’d rather control who has access to this information… Understood ?” 

Hadrien and Ella both nod, but Xavier is frowning at his father, looking at him with suspicious eyes. 

“What’s wrong, Xavier ?” asks Sophie. 

“I’m simply finding very strange that Dad’s best friend is also bisexual… And that Dad chose to break the news after talking with him.” 

He shakes his head and leaves the couch, heading for his bedroom. Sophie looks at her husband and Justin says : 

“I’ll deal with him.” 

“How does he know about Emmanuel ?” she asks. 

“He asked him.” brushes off the Canadian Prime Minister “Are we good here ? You could maybe go on a walk with Hadrien and Ella, and I’ll see what I can get from Xavier…”

“Let’s do that, yes.” she agrees. 

“Are you still mad at me ?” he whispers to her, before going after their son. 

“No, I’m not mad, Justin. I’m not really mad at you. I’m a bit confused. But I think we’ll manage to get through all of this. And the most important thing is that you are good with yourself.” 

“I am. More than ever…” 

They smile at each other, and he lets his hand linger for a while in hers before going after Xavier. He knocks on his son’s bedroom door and pushes it to enter. The teenager is lying on his bed, face down in his pillow, knowing that at least one of his parent is going to run after him. He turns his head and doesn’t seem to surprised to see his father on the threshold. 

“Come in.” he says.

Justin enters and closes the door so that they can talk in private, just the two of them. His son seems to be having issues, and he is determined to find out what they are. He sits on the edge of the bed and waits. Xavier will eventually tell him what is bothering him. 

“Are you cheating on Mom ?” attacks Xavier immediately. 

“What ? No !” exclaims Justin “What gave you this silly idea ?”

“You are acting weird, Dad.” sighs Xavier “You are bi, Emmanuel is bi, and he looks at you like you are… I don’t know… a granola bar !”

“That’s nonsense !” laughs Justin 

“You know what I mean.” pleads his son “So you and Emmanuel are not…?”

“Xav’...” chuckles Justin, trying to hide his nervousness “He’s my best friend. We are close, but not that close. And it’s not because we both are bisexual, and potentially attracted by men, that we are having an affair with each other. We both are married, and very happily married for that matters.” 

“So you’re not divorcing Mom ?”

“No, I’m not divorcing your Mom. Unless she gets really annoyed with me… Or maybe if I shave my head…” he jokes. 

It makes Xavier crack a smile and Justin continues on that way : 

“Do you think we should cut our hair ?”

“Mom would never forgive us for that. That’s a motive for divorce, Dad.” 

“Okay. No haircut. Do you want to go surfing with me, then ?” 

“I’d love to.” 

“Good. Are you feeling better about this whole thing ? I know this can be a bit overwhelming, but I’m not cheating on your mother, and we are not going to divorce. That’s what you need to keep in mind for now.” 

“I’m sorry I doubted you.” apologizes Xavier. 

“Don’t apologize. You have every right to raise questions. And if you have more questions, you know you can always talk to me. Always.”

“I know.” 

“Good. I’ll let you change, and you meet me on the beach ?” 

“Okay, Dad !” 

He high-fives him and goes wait him in the sand for their surfing session. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooooo..... What a way to end the year 2019, right ? 
> 
> What do you think of Justin bonding with his children through surfing ? Emmanuel's call ? Him breaking the news of Brigitte allowing them to see each other ? Justin's doubts and interrogations ? The conversation with Brigitte ? How they manage to agree on making this work ? Justin introducing Emmanuel to his mother ? Justin wanting to tell his family about his bisexuality ? His being on edge while at dinner ? Sophie teasing him about it ? Sophie realizing she hasn't seen any holidays pictures of the French ? How Justin finally breaks THE news ? How Sophie reacts ? Do you understand her reaction ? How the children are worried in the evening ? Margaret's reaction to her son's coming-out ? Sophie and Justin's discussion outside the house ? Emmanuel calling his boyfriend before he goes to sleep ? The family council in the morning ? How Xavier feels the needs to protect his siblings ? His doubts and interrogations ? How Sophie reacts and Justin snaps at her ? Do you think they'll manage to solve their marital problems ? Do you think Justin manged to reassure Xavier enough ? 
> 
> What will 2020 bring for them ? More love ? More despair ? More struggles ? I mean.... You guys all know the context, so.... Brace yourselves ^^


	29. January 8th 2020 - Rideau Cottage, Ottawa - The beginning of the end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this chapter we're starting the very rough year 2020. It'll be a rollercoaster of emotions as you can imagine.   
> Regarding the posting schedule, just so you know, I will be posting a new chapter evry other week from now on (and not every week as I was previously doing) to give me some time to write new chapters !
> 
> Oh, and little warning, this chapter is sad, grab a tissue !   
> \---------
> 
> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.
> 
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 29 : War - Poets of the fall 

Sophie sighs and grabs the restless phone of her husband on the nightstand. If she intends to sleep, Justin better picks up the call, whomever might be calling him at nearly midnight. She finds him in the bathroom, wearing only his underwear, his mouth full of toothpaste foam, an interrogative gaze directed at her. She shows him his phone and places it next to him. No words are exchanged, as usual. Things have been on and off between them since Costa Rica, and they are both extremely exhausted tonight, so Justin doesn’t really mind her mood swings. He frowns at his phone which keeps buzzing, wondering who might be calling so late. He knows it’s not Emmanuel, he had him on video a few hours ago. He spits the toothpaste, rinses his mouth and picks up the call. 

“Justin speaking.” he says 

“We have a problem.” answers his defense minister “We need your presence, now.” 

“Now ? As in… now now ?” 

“Yes.” 

“It’s half past midnight.” sighs Justin “What’s going on ?” 

“Civilian plane crash in Iran.” explains the man “We have reasons to believe it was shot by missiles. We’d like to avoid escalating tensions in the area, our allies are already holding meetings.”

“Shit.” 

Justin holds himself to the edge of the sink, and looks at himself in the mirror. His face turned white, and he knows he won’t be sleeping tonight. 

“I’ll be in my office as soon as possible. We meet there ?” 

“Yes. I’ll text you the latest news as soon as I get them.” 

“Thanks.” 

The Prime Minister hangs up, wipes his mouth, and beard, the newest addition to his look and returns to his room. 

“I’m sorry, love,” he says to his wife “duty calls. I will probably be working all night long, I have my phone with me, call me if you need anything.” 

“What happened ?” she questions 

“The Iranians apparently shot down a civilian plane.”

“Oh God.” she exclaims “Casualties ?” 

“Probably. I’ll get a full report in my office, but this is going to get ugly. I knew the tensions in the Middle-East were going to lead to ugly stuff.” 

He hurries up to get dressed, in semi-casual clothes, knowing that he’ll be able to get back here to get changed if needed for more formal ones later. Dark jeans, a buttoned down shirt, a jacket, a pair of trainers, he grabs his wristwatch, phone, charger, kisses Sophie on the lips and leaves. Half an hour later, he enters in his office on Parliament Hill. He turns his computer on and picks up a call without looking at the name on the screen. 

“Hello” he says 

“Hi” answers a voice he knows all too well “Are you alone ? Do I disturb you ?” 

“Oh, Manu’.” exclaims Justin “I should have known you’d call. I am alone, but not for long, can I call you back by video ?”

“Sure.” 

Justin does the manip on his phone, and his tired but ready to work boyfriend face appears on his screen. 

“You’re in your office ?” frowns Emmanuel 

“Yes.” sighs Justin letting himself down in his office chair trying to hide a yawn “I got summoned to handle the Iranian crisis.” 

“About that… What did your collaborators told you already ?” 

“Not much.” brushes off Justin “The plane went down, probably shot down by a missile. It appears to be a mistake made by the Iranians, but nothing is sure for now, we guess there are no survivors, but that’s to be confirmed…” 

“About the passengers…” hesitates Emmanuel

“Yes ?”

The French President falls silent for a few seconds, not knowing if he should be the one breaking the news to his boyfriend. He doesn’t want to be the one telling him, but maybe it’s best if it comes from him. 

“What ? Emmanuel ? What about the passengers ?” 

“According to the intelligence services of several European countries, most of the passengers aboard that plane were heading to Canada. With a change in Kiev, but most of them were going to your country…” 

Justin closes his eyes, processes the information, and says : 

“How many of them are we talking about ?”

“More than a hundred.” 

“Fuck !” swears Justin clenching his fist 

“I am sorry to break the news to you like that, but I thought the sooner the better.” 

“It’s fine. Thanks for letting me know. I… I need to go, I will probably have to call you back, during the meetings with other heads of states, NATO forces maybe, but thanks for checking on me.” 

“Sure. I keep my phone with me at all time, you can send me a text if you need me. Professionally or not.” 

“I will.” 

They hang up and Justin takes his head into his hands. This night is going to be a nightmare. Knocks on his door draw him from his thoughts and he lets his ministers and collaborators enter. The faces are serious, people tired, but resolute and ready to work. 

“Sit.” he instructs “Did someone think about bringing coffee ?” 

“I did.” answers one of his assistant giving him one cup 

“Thanks” he says “Harjit, we’re listening to you.” 

The Defense Minister gives them all the information he has on the plane crash, which confirms what Justin suspected : he doesn’t know yet about the possibility of Canadians being aboard. He lifts up his gaze to his audience and decides to keep silent for now. He trusts the European intelligence services, but their own agency should give them precise information as soon as possible. 

“Who do we call first ?” asks Justin “Iran ? USA ? Europe ?”

“I strongly believe that your first call should be for Ukraine. It was one of their planes that was shot down.” says one of Justin’s closest advisers “Condoleances first, and then trying to know if they have intel.” 

“They won’t.” adds the Defense Minister “They won’t share intelligence with us. But the next call should probably be with Trump’s team. They have eyes everywhere, and they will know what happened.” 

“Okay.” nods Justin 

He finishes his coffee and asks two of his assistants to take notes, while he discusses, with the help of his Minister with Volodymyr Zelensky the Ukrainian President. As predicted, the man gives Justin no information, but hints that most of the passengers might not have been headed to Kiev as their final destination. When Justin hangs up, he says : 

“Could we try arranging a NATO group call ? That would save us all time, and I feel that the information would be shared more efficiently amongst all of us.” 

“Do you really feel like this is the wisest thing to do ?” questions one of his adviser 

“Yes. I feel like this is it. Can you try to make this happen, for… let’s say… in half an hour ? I’m calling Emmanuel, you take care of all of the remaining countries.” 

He gets up and goes into another room, with his cellphone. He calls Emmanuel by video and his boyfriend picks up immediately. The French President is alone in his office, looking worried and exhausted. 

“Are you alright ?” he asks 

“More or less.” answers Justin “We’re organizing a NATO group call, in half an hour. I need to know everything before that.” 

“Sit down.” 

The tone was harsh, but unforgiving. Justin, who was standing against the wall slides down against it and sits down on the floor, his phone in his hand, a weight in his chest, afraid of what Emmanuel is going to tell him. 

“I’m still receiving news bits by bits,” explains the French “the situation in Iran is confused, and very blur. There are no survivors from the crash, that’s fairly certain now. Iran will deny taking down the plane obviously, but we know missiles have been fired, it’s a matter of hours until we have proof that it’s them.” 

“But why ?” 

“All night long USA and Iran have been on edge, firing at each other, they probably shot it down by accident.” 

“Okay. What else ?” 

The silence is eloquent enough for Justin to understand. 

“How many of them ?” 

“The good majority of the plane passengers had a connection in Kiev for Canada. According to the flight manifest, we’re talking at least a hundred and thirty people. But not all of them were Canadians. From what we gathered up to now, around sixty of them were your people Justin… The others were in majority Iranians, but living in Canada, or that’s what we suppose, but that still need to be confirmed…” 

Emmanuel has said all that checking his notes, not looking at his boyfriend. When he gazes upwards, his blue eyes realize that his lover is crying. Big, heavy tears are rolling down his cheeks, losing themselves in his beard, and Justin has closed his eyes, trying not to break down entirely. 

“Justin ? Look at me. Please.” 

“A minute.” says the Canadian “Just give me a minute.” 

He wipes the tears from his eyes with his shirt sleeves and finally focuses back on his boyfriend : 

“This is going to be a mess.” says Justin “A big mess.” 

“A huge one, yes.” confirms Emmanuel “But I’ll support you all along the way. Boris also had people on board, two or three people a priori, same for Angela. I had them both on the phone, we got the flight manifest from Zelensky services.” 

“How did you manage to do that ? He refused to give us anything.” 

“Europe pulled some strings.” explains Emmanuel “But you’ll get more information on the phone call with the NATO countries. Did you get Trump ?”

“Not yet. You ?”

“No, but Boris did. It didn’t get well. Of course, our American friend says it’s not his fault if the Iranian shot down the plane, which is somehow true, but he denies escalating the tensions in the area.” 

“Bastard.” mutters Justin 

“I know, I feel just about the same.” chuckles the French “This is going to be a complicated conversation, do you feel strong enough to stand your ground ?” 

“That’s why I needed to call you first. I wanted to be sure about the casualties, the Canadian casualties, first. I can’t break down in front of my team, or during the phone call, but with you, I know I can let go, you won’t judge me for crying, for showing my emotions.” 

“Always” replies Emmanuel “There is no shame between us, and you know that.”

“I know. I miss you, a lot.” 

They smile faintly at each other and the Canadian says to his boyfriend : 

“I have to go, but we’ll call you back in the NATO group call, alright ?” 

“Of course. Be strong, honey.” 

“I will. I love you, Manu’.” 

He hangs up and takes a few deep breaths, to calm down. He doesn’t want his team to know he cried. But he will have to break the news that Canadians were aboard that plane. He comes back to his office, buzzing with agistation, every single person in the room being on the phone with a foreign country, and he takes place to his desk. He grabs a notepad, writes down “Canadians were on the plane” on it with a marker, and holds it in the air for everyone to see. He sees them nod and acknowledge the heartbreaking news, apparently, some foreign teams gave them the same news. Lines are being opened, calls put on hold, and less than five minutes later everyone is ready for this large group call of the NATO leaders. Justin is leading the meeting, strengthened by the information given by his boyfriend, and gathered by his team. They all agree on pressuring Iran to reveal the truth about what exactly happen, and Justin makes a point of honour, into forcing Donald Trump to admit escalating the tensions in the Middle-East was partly his fault. When the call ends, Justin sighs deeply and puts some order in his thoughts. He then gives instructions to his team : 

“First things first : we need to contact all the families of the civilians that were aboard this plane. It is our duty to do so, let them know that their loved ones won’t be coming home. Harjit, can you and your team take care of this ?” 

“Yes, but we need the flight manifest.” answers the defense Minister 

“I’ll forward it to you.” adds Justin already typing on his computer “No need to tell you that this will be an extremely sensitive matter, not a word to anyone until all the families have been reached, alright ?”

“Understood.” nods the Minister “Will you get in touch with Iran ?” 

“Yes. But first I’m heading home, I need an hour of sleep, and a shower, coffee, and I’ll call them from my office there. And we need to organize a press conference for later on, because the word will spread that there were Canadians on board. Questions ?” 

“What time for the press conference ?” asks one of his assistant 

“Eleven, Ottawa time, that gives us enough time to plan ahead, and we’ll move it if needed, but don’t spread the word now, only talk about it from eight or nine, not before. Our priority is the families.” 

“Noted.” she says 

“Anything else ?” asks the Prime Minister 

He receives only silence in response and dismisses their nocturnal meeting. He gathers his belongings, answers a couple of emails before turning off his computer and rushes to his car. He needs to sleep for a brief moment, or he will break down in tears at one point during the day. In the car, sitting across Bart, his bodyguard, he launches a new video call with his boyfriend : 

“How are you feeling, honey ?” asks Emmanuel 

“Exhausted.” sighs Justin taken by emotion once more “This is a nightmare right ? I’m going to wake up, and forget all about it ?”

“Unfortunately, no.” 

“I scheduled a press conference for later on, my defense Minister is calling the families, one by one, to let them know what we know. I’m going home, I need to sleep for a while, I feel terrible.” 

“Sleep can only do you good, Justin.” 

“I know…” 

This time, Justin can’t refrain the tears any longer, and he literally burst out in tears, sobbing awkwardly, exhausted by his sleepless night, by the trouble to come, and extremely distraught by the tragedy hitting his country. He involuntarily lets his phone slip through his fingers and his bodyguard catches it before it crashes on the floor, placing a comforting hand on Justin’s shoulder at the same time. 

“Justin ? Honey ?” exclaims Emmanuel seriously worried 

“I’m good.” mumbles the Canadian to his lover “Sorry. I think that’s the breakdown I was afraid to have later today. Thanks Bart.” 

“No problem.” says the man ready to hand him back his phone “You got your man worried,” he adds “wipe your tears, I can hold your phone a little while longer.” 

Justin struggles to calm down, but he eventually manages to cry a little less, and he nods at his bodyguard, who gives him back his phone. Emmanuel is patiently waiting, still on video-call with him. 

“Feeling better ?” asks the French 

“Hardly.” sighs Justin “But at least I cried. I won’t be caught crying at the press conference later on.” 

“Crying is not a weakness, you know that, right ?” 

“I know. But the year is not really starting like I expected it to start. You know that the end of 2019 was rough, Costa Rica was both paradise and a nightmare, I have only been back to Canada for less than a week, and now this ?!”

“You’ve got the strength in you, honey. But you need to grab some sleep. And you need a shower. It will help you clear your head.” 

“I will probably fall asleep as soon as I lie down.” 

“Then don’t forget to put an alarm before you lie down.” chuckles Emmanuel 

Justin smiles just a little and he appreciates that his vulnerability is not an obstacle for his relationship with Emmanuel. The car pulled over in front of his house but before hanging up with his boyfriend he adds : 

“Thanks for supporting me through this nightmare. Keep me updated if anything happens, I’ll try to grab some rest now, or I won’t be able to function properly for the day.” 

“Bye, I love you.” 

“Love you too.” 

Justin hangs up, wipes the tears from his eyes and sighs. The week to come is going to be a nightmare, for the whole world, and for Canada especially. He is greeted by his wife inside the house, despite the very early hour of the morning. She made some coffee, and without a word, she wraps her arms around his waist and pulls him into a hug. 

“How bad is it ?” she whispers to him 

“Disastrous.” he answers “We had a lot of Canadian citizens aboard that plane.” 

“Oh.” she says in a strangled voice

“Why are you up so early ?” he questions his wife 

“A strange feeling that you would be needing me, and then I got hooked by the news.” she says “What are you going to do ?”

“Right now,” he says pulling away from her arms but kissing her on the forehead “I’m going to crash in our bed for an hour, I really need to sleep. Then, I’ll shower, put on a suit, and lock in my office to give some calls, and then back to the office. We’re giving a press conference at eleven. Will you take care of the kids ?” 

“Of course.” she nods “Of course.” 

He kisses her tenderly on the lips, looking for a bit of tenderness and relief in this crazy world and she kisses him back, knowing exactly that this is what he needs. 

“I love you Justin, and you are strong, you will get our country through this hell.” she murmurs to him before letting him run upstairs “Now go to sleep, I’ll handle the children.” 

“Thank you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did you think of this (sad) chapter ? How Justin gets thrown into 2020 in the worst way possible ? Manu immediately checking on him ? Them exchanging information ? Emmanuel breaking every bad news to his boyfriend because he feels it's his duty to do so ? Justin breaking into tears several times, but only with Emmanuel ? Bart being a witness of that ? Sophie being there for her husband ?


	30. February 14th 2020 - Munich, Germany - Would you be my Valentine ?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tiny tiny lexicon for the non-French people reading this fic :   
> Benjamin Griveaux was a candidate to the mayoral election in Paris but had to withdrawn because some private sextos of him leaked online (nasty affair, truly).   
> Agnès Buzyn was our former Health Minister and she took after Hriveaux to run for Paris (and miserably lost, but that's another story)  
> Olivier is Olivier Véran our current Health Minister (if you want to read more about him go read my fic Drawn to each Other)   
> Stanislas refers to Stanislas Guérini head of the presidential party
> 
> I believe that's all you need to know for this chapter... Oh, and they are both in Munich for a conference about security. And Justin is coming straight from an African tour. 
> 
> ENJOY ! 
> 
> \---------
> 
> Each chapter has been designed to be read with background music.
> 
> Here's my suggestion for chapter 30 : Always - Isak Danielson 

Emmanuel wasn’t expecting to have such a mess to handle during his weekend in Germany. He is still on the phone with Benjamin Griveaux, who just gave up being a candidate to being a mayor for Paris when Justin walks into his hotel room. He places a finger on his lips to ask him to keep silent for a minute and the Canadian nods. Emmanuel finishes his call, and puts his phone back into his trousers. It will keep buzzing all night long most certainly. His country is being rocked by a nasty affair of private life exposure, and it shakes his political party. 

“Excuse-me.” he says to his boyfriend “I have a huge mess to fix.” 

Justin sat on the edge of the bed, his tie loosened, no jacket, admiring his lover. It is the first time of the year they are seeing each other, and the first time they are meeting since they are allowed to see each other, more or less officially, by Emmanuel’s wife. The French President takes his partner’s face into his hands, appreciating the softness of the beard he learned to appreciate during their video calls. 

“What do you think ?” asks Justin with a grin. 

“It’s… strange.” admits his lover “But right now, I don’t really care.” 

He leans forward, and kisses the Canadian. Their mouths find each other, and their lips dance together, like they are used to, expressing how much they missed the other in these few months of separation. Emmanuel makes Justin fall back on the bed, and he climbs atop of him, determined to make their kiss end up in something wilder and dirtier. But he doesn’t get that chance : his phone starts buzzing in the rear pocket of his trousers and he grabs it, still kissing his boyfriend. He gives a quick glance and sighs : 

“Sorry, honey. I have to take that one.” 

“Go ahead.” answers his understanding boyfriend “But stay in my arms, it’s too adorable to have you with me.” 

“I agree.” 

Emmanuel steals a quick kiss from Justin’s lips and answers his phone. It’s his Prime Minister, calling for an update on the situation : 

“Good afternoon,” starts Edouard Philippe “Am I disturbing ?”

“Always, Edouard, you’re always disturbing.” jokes Emmanuel “I just had Benjamin on the phone, he’s shaken, but withdrawing his candidacy was the right thing to do. Which means we need to decide who will run in his place.”

“I’ve evaluated possibilities, all day long, with several collaborators, there is only one name that emerged, and you and I know this is going to be a mess, given the context.” 

The French sees Justin frowning, and he understands that he is only partially hearing the conversation. He puts Edouard through speaker and continues speaking. 

“Agnès Buzyn ?” says Emmanuel.

“Yes.” sighs Edouard Philippe “But we can’t change our Health Minister on the verge of a global pandemic we know nothing about.”

“But what if she’s the fittest candidate ?” 

“Emmanuel !” roars Edouard “We need a strong person in the Health Ministry ! Now more than ever !” 

“Can’t we swap her for someone else ?” suggests Emmanuel. 

“Is it wise to do so right now ?” replies Edouard “I’m not sure. Look, I’ll let you think about it, there’s no rush in taking a decision tonight. But by the end of the weekend, we need to decide if we let Agnès run or not. She seems to be interested, from what I’ve heard from her assistants.” 

“Thanks for letting me know.” 

“You’re welcome. Are you spending the evening alone ?” 

“No he’s not.” laughs Justin jumping into the conversation “Good evening Mr.Philippe.” 

“Prime Minister Trudeau.” politely answers his French counterpart “I should have guessed that. Good evening to you both, then.” 

“Bye, Edouard.” says Emmanuel hanging up. 

He looks up at Justin with an apologetic glance. 

“I am so sorry, we got caught up in a crazy story in France…” 

“The guy from your party who got his dick exposed all over the Internet ?” reacts Justin “Yeah, I know. A nasty story…” 

But strangely, the Canadian is smirking and it makes his boyfriend frown. 

“What are you hiding from me, Justin ?” he asks. 

“I saw the videos.” mutters the Canadian “That guy is really well-endowed.” 

“Oh you dirty bastard !” exclaims Emmanuel “How did you end up seeing those videos ?!” 

“Come on, Manu’, they were all over the internet. Twitter was full of screenshots and bits of it, I didn’t even have to look for them.” 

Emmanuel pouts and sighs : it’s true. He did saw those, even if he wanted to avoid them, and he has to admit that Justin is right : the dick that was exposed was indeed gloriously generous. 

“You are probably right.” he finally declares.

“So, you’re going to change your Health Minister ?” 

“She seems really eager to try and be mayor of Paris.” answers Emmanuel stroking calmly his boyfriend’s cheek as they keep talking “And I think she could have her chances. It could be a female battle…” 

“You know how much I like female empowerment,” says Justin “but if I may, I agree with Edouard on his point, there is a deadly virus coming our way, and we don’t know what’s ahead of us yet. Maybe nothing, or maybe months of sorrow… It could be unwise to change her right this moment.” 

“Since when do you interfere into French politics ?” smirks Emmanuel. 

“Since it comes up on our Valentine’s date.” jokes Justin “I even put my very special Valentine socks for you.” 

“Oh, I want to see those !” 

Justin raises his legs up in the air, making his trouser fall down his legs, revealing black socks with an intricate pattern of golden hearts. 

“Very cute.” comments the French President as Justin puts his feet back on the bed, removing his shoes in the process “Have you ever spent Valentine’s day with anyone beside your wife ?” 

“Not since I’m with Sophie. I usually try not to work on that day, or to at least keep some time for her…”

“And before ?” 

“Occasional girlfriends, hookups, depends on the period of my life you are investigating, love.” 

They chuckle and exchange a kiss. 

“What about you ?” questions Justin taking Emmanuel by surprise and swapping their positions.

“I met my wife when I was sixteen, honey. I never spent a Valentine’s day with anyone else. Brigitte says hello by the way, she was the one who insisted I came here a day earlier than planned.” 

“She is incredible.” 

“She realized I was missing you like crazy, I believe. And she was right. I saw your speech earlier, it was great… Really great…” 

Emmanuel is grinning from ear to ear, and it doesn’t stop, since his boyfriend decided it was time to unbutton his shirt. Justin’s expert hands are actively opening down Emmanuel’s shirt, the fingers trailing their way on the bare skin of the chest as they go down… He has arrived on the French’s stomach when Emmanuel’s phone starts ringing again. They both sigh and Justin says : 

“I guess you need to take this ?” 

“Probably.” answers his boyfriend with an apologetic smile “I’ll try to make it short.”

He picks up the call, coming from the Health Minister, and escapes the bed. He gets rid of his shoes and socks, and steps outside, on the balcony of his room. Justin stays seated on the bed, observing him. But Munich is cold in the evening, and Emmanuel went out without a jacket. Rolling his eyes, Justin looks for a jacket in Emmanuel’s travel bag and brings it to him, in silence. He doesn’t stay on the balcony with him, in the fear on being seen, but he touches his hand for a brief instant while he puts the jacket on the man’s shoulder. 

“Thank you.” silently mutters his lover. 

He comes back to him ten minutes later, apologizing profusely. 

“I’m sorry, honey,” says Emmanuel “we’ve got a Covid-related death in France.” 

“Oh. How bad is that ?” 

“It’s a Chinese tourist, he was old and had other pathologies, but that’s a concerning situation. And I talked about the Paris election with the Health Minister, she’s ready to go. And I’m going to let her go…”

Justin reads in this instant that his boyfriend is far gone into working mode. He lets himself down on the bed, his arms crossed behind his head, knowing that nothing he could say or do will bring him back to him. What a terrible date ! 

“I have a couple more calls to make, and then I’m all yours.” says Emmanuel to his boyfriend “Is that okay for you ?” 

“What other choice do I have ?” shrugs the Canadian. 

“Thanks. You’re an amazing boyfriend.” adds the French president kissing him on the lips. 

He phones Edouard Philippe to update him on the situation. 

“Again ?” answers the Prime Minister “I thought you were supposed to take your time to think ? And enjoy your evening ?” 

“I had Agnès on the line, about the Chinese tourist who died of the new coronavirus.” explains the President. 

Emmanuel is distracted by Justin who wrapped his arms around his waist, kissing him in the neck, as he does so often. 

“I heard about that, yes.” admits Edouard “It’s a situation I get daily updates about, even though it’s not my competence.” 

“Good. I’m concerned, but not overly worried for now. Do you have Olivier Véran’s file somewhere in your office ?”

“Olivier ? Do you plan on finally calling him into our government ? Does that mean we’re letting Agnès run for the election in Paris ?”

“I’m thinking about it, yes. I think Olivier could be a good asset.”

“You know that he’s an excellent professional, and an incredible MP. Having him as a Minister would be an asset, for certain. But is it a good thing to swap them, now ?” 

Justin tries to unbuckle his lover’s belt but the President prevents him from doing so, removing his hand a bit too harshly. He pushes him away, trying to focus on his phone call. The Canadian doesn’t understand, it’s harmless fun, and Emmanuel is efficient at multitasking, he has done far worse already, being on the phone while being fucked or sucked by him. Why is he so reluctant today ? Justin shakes his head and comes back to Emmanuel, hugging him again from behind, but with no ulterior motive this time. 

“I believe it’s better to do it now than later.” answers Emmanuel to his Prime Minister “And Agnès believes she has her chances for Paris. Besides, it would be a women’s battle, and that could send a powerful message.” 

“That is probably true. I guess the party will support whatever choice you make ?” 

“Stanislas, said I could send whoever I wanted, he’d approve.” nods Emmanuel. 

He feels the heat rising in his body, and he escapes Justin’s embrace, reluctantly. He wishes he could spend more time with his boyfriend, but he needs to finish this call first. He gives an apologetic smile to his boyfriend, but the only answer he receives is a cold stare. 

“Then it’s a decision made ?” asks Edouard Philippe. 

“Yes. I need you to call Olivier, see if he’s ready to become a Minister. If the answer is yes, Agnès will run for Paris, and Olivier’s in.” 

Emmanuel frowns to see Justin sitting on the bed, finishing to lace his shoes. He doesn’t have the time to ask any question, as he sees him run away, without a look for him. 

“Justin wait !” he calls.

But the Canadian PM has vanished through the door even before Emmanuel could finish his sentence. The President falls silent, and his own Prime Minister asks : 

“Is he gone ?”

“Yes.” sighs Emmanuel “I am the worst boyfriend ever, I am sure he hates me. It was supposed to be our first, perfect, Valentine’s day together.” 

“Then run after him !” argues Edouard. 

“It’s too late.” answers Emmanuel shaking his head “What would be the point ? And I’m barely dressed, I can’t run after him like that.” 

“Emmanuel, you are a moron. Run after him, I’m taking care of the Health Minister, Olivier is a good candidate, I’ll call him.” 

“Are you sure ?”

“For Christ’s sake, Emmanuel !”

Edouard Philippe sighs and hangs up on his friend. That’s a clear message saying : “run after your boyfriend, you idiot !”. Emmanuel rushes to the door of his hotel room and opens it. He is welcomed by one of his bodyguards, arms crossed on his chest. 

“I can’t let you out dressed like that, Sir.” says the man politely. 

“I know.” nods the President “My… hmm…” he corrects himself “The Prime Minister of Canada, which way did he go ?” 

“Upstairs I think.” frowns the bodyguard “Is there a problem, Sir ?” 

“No. No problem.” 

He closes the door and thinks. Justin has probably gone back to his bedroom. That would be the most logical move. He tries calling him on his cellphone, but his call ends up straight to voicemail. He tries twice in the next two minutes, but Justin denies his call every time. Well, he deserved it. Emmanuel buttons his shirt, and put on some socks, and a pair of sneakers, maybe a face to face conversation is needed. He gets out of his hotel room, and uses the service staircase to reach the upper floor. Justin’s room is right above his own, and he finds Bart, the faithful bodyguard in front of his boyfriend’s door. 

“I can’t let you in.” says the man “Sorry, Mister President.” 

“But…”

“He said he doesn’t want to see anyone. Especially you.” 

“Please Bart, I need to talk to him.” 

“Sorry.” 

The bodyguard stepped between the French President and the bedroom door, to make sure he doesn’t try to enter by force. 

“Fine.” sighs Emmanuel “He’s sulking, I understand.” 

The French president goes downstairs, in the bar-restaurant of the hotel, to drown his sorrow. He fucked up one of the rare moments they could share, and he feels terribly guilty. He got tangled into work, and completely neglected Justin. He sends an apologetic text to his boyfriend, trying to patch things up : 

**_I am so sorry, honey. I did not realize how unfair it was for me to keep working that much when I should have been spending time with you. Please, can we at least talk things through ? I hate to know that you are mad at me, even though I 100% deserve your anger…_ **

**_I am a shitty boyfriend, and I’m sorry I ruined our first Valentine’s day together…_ **

The answer comes a few seconds later, and those two simple words make Emmanuel cringe. 

**_Fuck you._ **

This will need more than an apology to make things right with Justin. Much more. The French President sighs and looks down at the glass of wine he ordered. He suddenly wishes he had chosen something stronger. How can he be so stupid ? His security service made sure he was not disturbed, but all around him, in the restaurant, couples are dining together, enjoying their Valentine’s dinner, and waiters are bringing more champagne glasses than it is reasonably possible to drink. He’s hungry, and his eyes end up on the menu, wondering if he should get something brought up to his room. 

“We can get a menu delivered to your bedroom, Sir.” indicates a waitress “And if your wife is up there with you, we have the special Valentine’s day dinner, for two people, and it includes a full bottle of champagne.” 

“What brand ?” asks Emmanuel mindlessly. 

“Moët, but we have other brands, if you prefer…” 

Given the silence that follows, she does not insist and leaves him to his thoughts. Emmanuel is starting to think about an idea, a crazy one, but one that could save his evening. Maybe. He draws his phone out of his pocket and sends another text to his lover : 

**_Would you let me try to make it up to you, honey ? Please ? I know I did you wrong, but I have an idea to save the evening, and I promise, my phone, and laptop will both stay off._ **

He waits for the answer, but nothing pops up on his screen. Maybe Justin is really mad at him. He sighs and finishes his drink bottoms up, ready to go back up in his room to sleep, on an empty stomach. He feels sad and guilty. He is about to get up when finally Justin’s face appears on his screen, it’s a regular phone call that he answers immediately : 

“Let me talk.” immediately warns Justin “I’m going to give you one chance to make things right, because I really want to spend tonight with you. But I swear, if you check your phone once, it’s over.” 

“I’ll turn off my phone, I promise.”

“Then my door is open.” 

“Let’s meet in my room in… twenty minutes ? You’ll understand why. Trust me, it’ll be worth it.” 

“I left once, I can leave another time if necessary. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” 

And Justin hangs up, without another word for his boyfriend. Emmanuel has a faint smile on his lips and he waves at the waitress who talked to him earlier to get her attention. 

“I’d like to get the Valentine’s dinner in my room, please. But I want another brand of Champagne. A French one ideally. An expensive one.” 

He spends five minutes choosing the champagne with her, and she validates his order, adding it to his tab, and promising it will be delivered in no time in his bedroom. Emmanuel goes back up in the higher storeys of the building, and reaches his room, followed by his security service. Before going in, he tells them : 

“I am waiting for Prime Minister Trudeau to join me, let him in as soon as he arrives. And room service will bring dinner in no time, make yourselves discreet, please.” 

His two bodyguards nod and Emmanuel closes the door. He tidies up the room a bit, making his laptop and working files disappear in his travel bag. That will wait for the flight he will take tomorrow. He owes this evening, and this night to Justin. They need to reconnect : it’s the first time they see each other since their relationship took this unexpected turn, and he desperately wants to spend time with Justin. He turns off his phone and places it on the nightstand. Emmanuel hears knocks on his door and he screams at the person to enter. It’s the room service, bringing dinner, on a rolling tray. 

“Can you leave it here ?” asks the President “Please ?”

“Sure.” nods the waiter who brought the meal up “Do you need anything else, Sir ?” 

“That will be okay.” says Emmanuel “Unless you can bring me candles ?”

“That is against the fire safety policy, I’m afraid. Just ring us up if you need anything else.” adds the waiter, going away.

Emmanuel opens the champagne bottle and pours two glasses. His boyfriend knocks and enters into the bedroom, a bit wary of what he is going to find inside. Emmanuel raises his eyes up to him and smiles. He hands him a glass of champagne, and the Canadian seizes it, careful not to touch his lover’s hand. He has not said a word, but his eyes are softer than before, and it gives Emmanuel enough confidence to talk. 

“I am sorry.” says the French President “I am so sorry, Justin. I love you, and I should have noticed, and known that I was working too much, and neglecting you.” 

“You are the worst boyfriend I ever had.” replies Justin.

“I am the only boyfriend you ever had.” jokes Emmanuel. 

Justin cracks a tiny smile, and raises his glass. 

“Let’s try again, then,” says the Canadian “to us, and to our first Valentine’s day together.” 

“To you being magnanimous, as always, and to me learning to be better.” adds Emmanuel. 

They take a sip of champagne and a satisfied moan escapes Justin’s lips. 

“That champagne is delicious !” he exclaims “And it must cost a fortune.” 

“Only the best for my man.”

“Say that again.” teases Justin. 

“Only the best for my man.” 

“I like when you call me like that.” smiles the Canadian.

Emmanuel closes the distance between them, and timidly, he brings his hand to his boyfriend’s cheek. His fingers find their way through the short beard, and he smiles. 

“I could get used to it after all.” 

“You’ll never get used to it, Manu’. Stop lying.” 

“But I’ll get used to see you with it, honey.” 

“How about kissing me with it ?”

“It tingles a bit, and it feels really weird, but as long as we can kiss, I’ll be happy.” 

“Then kiss me.” 

They are still holding their champagne glasses, but Justin puts his arms around Emmanuel’s neck, and the French wraps his around his lover’s waist. He gets on tiptoes and kisses Justin, with all the love and devotion he can. He is crazy about him, and very eager to prove him so. 

“I love you, I’m sorry if I gave you any other impression earlier. You know how I can easily get distracted by work. But right now, I am with you, and I am all yours…” he whispers into Justin’s ear. 

“You’re mine,” groans his boyfriend in response “for the evening, for the night, and forever.” 

“Yes. Forever.” murmurs Emmanuel sealing this promise with a soft kiss on the lips “Forever.” 

They stay in each other’s arms for an eternity. None of them can say if it’s two minutes or ten, but it is a sweet moment during which the world could stop turning, they wouldn’t care. They eventually break their embrace, to look for what’s been brought for their dinner. Foie gras, lobster, and fruits to dip in melted chocolate for dessert.

“Thank you, Emmanuel.” smiles Justin “This is going to be a nice evening.” 

“I really hope we can enjoy it together, you know. I am a romantic at heart.” 

“Then you don’t mind if I put some music and invite you for a dance, before we eat ?” 

“I’m a poor dancer.” argues Emmanuel.

“Because you think I am a good one ?” teases Justin “Please. I simply want to dance with you.” 

“Fine.” 

Justin looks for a romantic playlist on his phone and he puts the music for them to hear, placing his phone with Emmanuel’s one on the nightstand. He then takes one of his boyfriend’s hands, and puts the other one in his back, pulling him closer. Their hips are brushing against each other, and they swing along the rhythm of the song, foreheads pressed together. 

“You really are the worst dancer ever.” jokes Justin. 

“I could say the same about you.” 

“Well, we found each other then it would appear.” 

They both grin and exchange a kiss. To eat, they decide on sitting together, on the floor, their plates on the little coffee table that is in the corner of Emmanuel’s suite. They open their shirts, giggling like teenagers, and sit down to eat. They feed each other, with the starter and the main course, but for the dessert, Emmanuel has another idea. 

“Do you trust me ?” he says to his partner. 

“Always.” nods Justin. 

“Then give me five minutes, and we will eat that dessert in the best way possible.” 

The French President goes inside the bathroom of his suite, and starts to run a hot bath for them to share. He wants for them to eat this very sensual dessert while naked, and eventually it could lead to a night of pleasure. He comes back to the bedroom and extends his hand to Justin. The Canadian gets up as he seizes it and his boyfriend makes his shirt slide down his shoulders. It ends up on the floor, and Emmanuel removes his own, adding it on top of it. 

Emmanuel smirks, and pulls his partner by the buckle of his belt up to the bathroom. It is already filled with steam, and the President falls to his knees, opening the said buckle, struggling as usual, but not complaining for once. 

“Let me help.” says Justin. 

“No.” replies Emmanuel “I am a lame boyfriend if I can’t even strip you down…” 

“You better hurry then, or the bathtub is going to overflow.” 

“Tell me, do you always wear overly complicated belts on purpose ?”

“I forgot to put a baby-buckle especially for you.” jokes Justin.

Emmanuel finally manages to open it and he lowers Justin trousers and underwear in the same move. He plants a soft kiss on the upper thigh of his lover and helps him step out of his clothes. Justin turns off the tap, to prevent the bathtub from overflowing, especially if both of them want to fit in the bathtub, and he climbs inside. Emmanuel gets back in the room to pick up the bowl of fresh fruits, the one of melted chocolate that has been kept warm until now, and he brings them to the edge of the bathtub. He places them there, and leans to steal a kiss from his boyfriend’s mouth. 

“This is going to get messy, and dirty.” whispers the Canadian. 

“I hope for it.” answers Emmanuel. 

He gets rid of his clothes and steps into the bathtub, across his boyfriend. The naughty smirk on Justin’s face tells him this is going to be a good evening for them both. 

“Let’s see what we have here...” starts Justin taking the bowl of fruits in his hands “Grapes, strawberries, raspberries, tangerine wedges and… what’s that ?” 

He is holding a little white cube in his hand, turning it around, wondering what it might be. He approaches his hand, and Emmanuel gets closer, parting his lips. The Canadian drops the fruit in his mouth, and his boyfriend traps his finger between his lips for a few seconds before releasing them. 

“Pear.” he says once he chewed and swallowed it “Not ripe enough, but that’s bits of pear.” 

“I would never have guessed that.” says Justin shaking his head “What else would you like, love ?” 

“I’d like a raspberry, with loads of chocolate…” 

“Loads of chocolate ?” grins Justin “You are greedy, but I like that.” 

He takes the biggest raspberry he can find and dips it in the melted chocolate, he feeds Emmanuel with it, and the President lasciviously licks his lips clean afterwards. 

“Keep your tongue inside your mouth, Manu’.” warns the Canadian who already feels way too hot.

“Or what ?” 

“Or we won’t play for long.” 

“Can I stick it out to lick the chocolate you have on your fingers ?” 

“After.” 

Justin winks at his lover, and takes a grape, dips it into the chocolate, not minding at all if he gets some on his fingers, but this time, the French President got on his knees and closed the distance eagerly between his mouth and his boyfriend’s hand. He securely locks his mouth around Justin’s fingers and let his tongue licks them, eating the melted chocolate. 

“I thought you were done misbehaving ?” says the Canadian, arching an eyebrow. 

“I couldn’t resist. Hand me the fruits, I’d like to feed you, honey.” 

They exchange a kiss as the bowl is passed between them, and Emmanuel picks up a tangerine wedge that he dips into chocolate. He gets closer to Justin, getting on his knees, between the man’s legs, and he brings the fruit to his lover’s mouth. The Canadian parts his lips, but not enough, and he ends up with more chocolate on his mouth than in his mouth. He looks at Emmanuel, without a word, daring him silently to come and lick it. The French President does exactly that, and it requires a lot of willpower to them both not to moan indecently. Justin’s hand found its way to the lower back of his lover, pulling him even closer to his own body. Emmanuel keeps going with the fruits : grape, then pear, then raspberry. When he eventually picks up the strawberry, he realizes this will be too big to fit into Justin’s mouth at once. He inserts it between the lips of his partner and let the man bite down on it,. Juice flows down on his chin, and then on his chest, trailing down between his pectoral muscles, under the mesmerized gaze of Emmanuel. When the drops of strawberry juice reach the water, Justin uses his free hand to force Emmanuel to look up by placing a finger under his chin. 

“I want you Emmanuel.” he whispers “Don’t you think we’ve played enough ?” 

“Eat your strawberry, then we’ll see what we can do about that.” grins his boyfriend. 

Justin finishes eating the strawberry, and Emmanuel kisses him, appreciating the sweet taste of his lover’s mouth. Both his hands reach for Justin’s hair, but the Canadian catches them before his lover can mess with them. 

“No, please Manu’... No teasing. I want sex, I need sex. I’m hard as a rock, please, I beg you…” 

It is not common for him to beg that much, but that game they played with the fruits and the chocolate was too much to handle for him and it awoke a lust that he can’t fight anymore. He doesn’t want to wait any more minute, he wants to make love with Emmanuel, because that is the best way they know how to reconnect. 

“Here ?” questions the French a bit surprised. 

“Here, and now.” nods Justin “Ride me, Emmanuel. Please.” 

Emmanuel is a bit puzzled by Justin’s reaction, but he doesn’t dwell on it for too long. He wants that too, and he intends on giving him what he desires. They kiss each other, passionately, and Emmanuel positions himself above his boyfriend’s penis, ready to be penetrated without preparation. He lowers himself on it, and tilts his head backwards when the long rod breaches through his hole and tears him apart. Pain, mixed with pleasure, brings tears to his eyes, but Justin caresses his chest calmly, to soothe the discomfort. 

“Are you alright, love ?” he asks 

“I am… fine.” sighs Emmanuel lowering his eyes to meet Justin’s gaze “And I feel complete.” 

They both smile, and the French moves his hips slightly, making them both moan incoherently. Emmanuel wraps an arm around his lover’s neck, and his free hand comes on his lover’s cheek. 

“I love you.” he says. 

“I love you too.” replies Justin trying to move his pelvis. 

He knocks the bowl of fruits from the edge of the bathtub in the process with his elbow, and he swears loudly. Emmanuel bursts into laughter, looking at the mess it makes on the floor. 

“We’ll clean up later, don’t worry.” he says “Keep focused on your pleasure.” 

Justin chuckles and manages to thrust himself in and out of his partner’s hole, moaning of pleasure. 

“Damn, this feels good.” he whispers 

“Justin,” smirks Emmanuel “you and I being officially together means that you can scratch my skin, or bite me.” 

“I can’t do that. What would Brigitte say ?”

“She won’t mind. Trust me, she won’t mind. You have been dying to make things rough since our first time, now you can, honey.” 

Justin shuts him up with a kiss, and lets his mouth travel down his lover’s neck. Emmanuel tilts his head on the side to free the way, and the Canadian intensifies his kisses, very tempted to mark the skin just below the ear, but knowing he can’t because it would be visible. He goes lower, and ends up on the shoulder of his partner, who keeps undulating his hips, making waves of pleasure rush directly to their brains. His teeth brush against the skin, tantalizing, Emmanuel shivering from this sweet promise. He bites Emmanuel’s shoulder, gently but surely, enough to imprint the trace of his teeth in the skin. He has been dying to do so since their first hook-ups. He groans as Emmanuel intensifies the rhythm of his movements, and he involuntarily knocks down the second bowl from the edge of their bath. 

“Fuck !” they both swear at the same time. 

“The hotel is going to kill me.” adds Emmanuel “We are making such a mess.” 

“Do you mind ? You are the President of France, you could tear the room to pieces, no one would say anything…” 

“Except that by now, they must have realized they didn’t see my wife… And that I ordered a Valentine’s menu. People will talk.” 

“Let them talk.” laughs Justin “We know better.” 

They laugh and Emmanuel keeps riding his boyfriend, the long cock deep inside of him. Justin is all too his pleasure, screaming his boyfriend’s name, not minding at all to be heard. 

“Oh Manu’ !” he exclaims feeling close to orgasm already. 

“Yes !” encourages his boyfriend “Yes, honey…” 

His lover climaxes a minute later, deep inside of him, muffling a cry in his neck. His sperm flows for a long while, and he pants, his arms around Emmanuel’s waist, trying to calm down and recover from that powerful orgasm. 

“Thank you, my love.” whispers Justin in Emmanuel’s ear “I hadn’t orgasm like that in weeks.”

“I can feel that.” chuckles his boyfriend “Should we keep going in the bathtub ?” 

“No.” smirks the Canadian “Let me take you to bed, and you’ll fuck me to sleep.” 

“Oh, we’re swapping tonight ?” 

“Yes.” 

They exchange a kiss, and Justin withdraws from inside his boyfriend. They get up, and out of the bathtub, trying not to step in the chocolate, nor the fruits, nor their clothes, nor the cracked bowls on the floor. 

“Leave that mess here, we’ll clean up later.” says Justin taking his boyfriend’s hand “I don’t want to wait any longer !” 

Giggling like children, he pulls him closer and they kiss, in each other’s arms, tumbling their way to the bed. Emmanuel pushes him, his hands on his lover’s chest, and makes him fall backwards. He climbs atop of him, straddling him. His penis, gloriously erected is rubbing against the softening one of his partner, and it makes them both smile. 

“I have lube in my travel bag.” says the French to his lover “Do you want me to get it ?” 

“It’s up to you.” shrugs Justin. 

“Well, I’d rather not hurt you, honey.” 

He leans over the edge of the bed and drags his bag closer, looking for the toiletries bag. He finds the lubricant and pours some in his hand. He throws the tube back in the bag and spreads the lube along his rod, sighing of pleasure, and closing his eyes as he does so. 

“Hey, hey, hey !” protests the Canadian “Don’t get your pleasure without me !” 

“I need you to spread your legs, Justin.” argues Emmanuel.

He does even better, and puts both his ankles on his partner’s shoulders, giving him the perfect access to his hole. Emmanuel brings his lubed cock closer and he pushes his hips forward, breaching through the entrance, bringing a cry of surprise to his boyfriend’s lips. 

“Do you like that ?” grins Emmanuel kissing him. 

“Very much.” replies his lover “It feels incredible.” 

“I love you, Justin. I love you so much.” 

“I know, Manu’, I know that.” 

He starts moving his pelvis back-and-forth, and Justin moans, one of his hands on Emmanuel’s chest, teasing the nipples of his lover to enhance the pleasure rocking the French’s body. The President is no longer able to control himself, and he is biting his lower lip, in order not to scream.

“Love, you can be vocal with me. Here we can be ourselves, truly and fully.” 

“I know. But I can’t. Sorry.” 

“Don’t apologize. But don’t hold back.” 

“I am so close, honey.” 

“I know. I can see it in your eyes.”

Emmanuel increases the speed and he orgasms seconds later, screaming Justin’s name and collapsing into his arms, a smile of contentment on his lips. 

“Love ?” says the Canadian brushing Emmanuel’s hair off of his forehead “Are you alright ?”

“Hmm.” groans the French in response “I’m good. I simply need a minute.” 

“You can have all the time in the world in my arms, Emmanuel.” whispers Justin playing with his boyfriend’s hair.

They stay tangled on the bed like that for several minutes, Emmanuel catching his breath, Justin recovering from their wild session of sex. 

“I am sorry for being a terrible boyfriend, you know.” says the French after a while “And you had every right to be angry at me. But I’m going to do better, and now that my wife knows about us, I feel like I can do better for both of you…”

“You are incredible Manu’...” sighs Justin “You are sometimes, it’s true, an insufferable know-it-all, and you are always working too much, but I love you. I fell in love with you knowing all of this, and it was unfair of me to get mad at you because of it. Your country is going through something hard, and you had to put duty before me, for a while at least. I need to learn to share you, with France, and not be a greedy, needy baby.” 

“I like when you are a greedy, needy baby. When you are my greedy baby.” smirks Emmanuel “We’ll learn to share each other with our jobs I guess. And we should go take a shower, and try to fix the mess we made in the bathroom. The hotel tab is going to cost me a fortune… And I’m pretty sure you managed to get the chocolate to crash on our clothes.” 

“Oooh no.” complains Justin “Really ? Dry-cleaning is going to kill me, when I get back in Canada. Between this, and the dust and sand from my week in Africa…” 

“You looked great in Africa, by the way.” smirks Emmanuel pulling himself away from his boyfriend’s arms “I loved all the pictures I saw. And I hope it’ll help you secure that United Nations seat you are looking after.” 

“I doubt it’ll be enough.” argues Justin sitting up on the bed “But it was a nice trip. And you are the cherry on the cake.” 

Emmanuel kisses him and pours the remaining of champagne into their glasses. They cheer and drink it before doing anything else. They are sticky and sweaty from making out, and really need a shower, but they also need to assess the damages in the bathroom. Emmanuel is the first one to step inside the room, wary to not step onto a splinter from the broken bowls. The chocolate indeed partially ended up on their clothes, and he picks them up from the floor, to put them on the edge of the bathtub. Justin removes the lid from the bath to empty it, and he gathers the pieces of porcelain on the floor, throwing them in the trash one by one. The fruits take the same direction, and Emmanuel grabs a paper towel to wipe the chocolate from the floor. It looks as neat as possible, apart from their stained clothes. 

“I hope you weren’t counting on wearing that suit tomorrow.” indicates Justin 

“I have another one, thankfully.” replies Emmanuel with a smile “I always pack two, just in case.” 

“You got lucky on that one. Should we take our shower together ?” 

“Is it wise ?” 

“You don’t get to answer my questions by another question, Manu’, that’s too easy…” 

Justin approaches his boyfriend, taking him by the hips. He repeats his question, looking at him straight in the eyes, and with a deep, sensual voice : 

“Should we take our shower together ?” 

“I’d love to.” nods the French President “But no sex, I am exhausted, you certainly are too, and we both have to wake up early tomorrow.” 

“You are the least fun man on this planet.” 

“And you are the least responsible head of state ever. And the most stubborn.” smirks Emmanuel leading the way to the shower “Now come, I want to spend some quality time with you.” 

They wash each other, appreciating to be able to hold the other, to touch him, to tease him, but with no ulterior motive. Emmanuel is right : they are both exhausted, and a second session of sex would do them no good. They wrap themselves in clean towels to dry, and get back to the bed. Justin lies down on his back, and Emmanuel snuggles next to him, an arm around his chest, a leg between his, his head resting on his shoulder. 

“At what time do you have to leave tomorrow ?” 

“Six thirty, at the latest. But I’ll need to get back to my room a bit earlier so I can pack my stuff.” sighs Justin. 

“It’s going to be an early breakfast for us both then.” smiles Emmanuel.

He lets his fingers run up and down his lover’s stomach, barely brushing against the skin. Justin finds it adorable, and he lets him do, even though it awakes lust in his body, that he needs to repress. 

“You don’t have to wake up that early, love.” says Justin nonetheless.

“You are the sleepy one of us both.” jokes his lover “I’ll wake up, and we’ll take our breakfast together, honey. I want to spend as much time as possible with you. Who knows when the next time will be ?”

“G7, most likely.” 

“June is a long time ahead.” sighs Emmanuel “It seems like an eternity ahead. How are we going to manage not to see each other for that long ?” 

“Like we always do, love. We’ll call, we’ll steal some moments, we’ll find our ways.” 

“That is if that virus doesn’t kill us all before that.” 

Dark humor isn’t Emmanuel strongest skill, and it surprises his partner so much that he frowns and looks at him with surprise. 

“Manu’, do you really have concerns over this ? We didn’t talk about this, because I thought you didn’t worry much, but apparently you do… Tell me what’s bothering you.” 

“My Health Minister warned me, weeks ago, that if the virus spreads amongst the population, and if we can’t track it and stop the contagion, we’ll have to put a lockdown on our country.” 

“Do you think it will happen ?” wonders Justin. 

“Anything is possible at this point.” honestly answers his boyfriend “We are far from this scenario right now, but it’s one of the possible outcomes. And you know, like me, what it means for the country and the economy, and the people.” 

“Let’s hope we don’t have to resolve to this, then. But I’m sure you’ll take the best decisions for your country. You always do.”

“Do I ? Changing the Health Minister on the verge of a global pandemic, is it really wise ?” 

“It’s a bold and brave decision.” chuckles the Canadian “One only you can make. Is the new one a good guy ?” 

“A talented, bright, young, extremely skilled professional.” replies Emmanuel with a smile “He’ll do good. Insanely good.” 

“Should I be jealous that you talk with such endearment of another man ?” 

“Would you be jealous ? I mean, really jealous ?” 

“Maybe.” smirks Justin “I can accept the idea of having to share you with your wife, she’s incredible, and she was here way before me, I can accept the idea of having to share you with France, because it’s your country and you are nearly married to your work, but sharing you with anyone else, no. You are mine, and I can be extremely jealous if you appear to be interested in anyone else.” 

“I am not interested in anyone else, honey.” 

Emmanuel plants a kiss on his boyfriend’s skin and they both smile. 

“We should try to sleep now.” says the Canadian “Did you program the alarm ?”

“Not yet. My phone is off, if I dare to remind you.” 

“Right.” laughs Justin grabbing his partner’s phone to set an alarm clock for them both. 

“Four ? Four thirty ?” suggests Emmanuel.

“That early ?” groans Justin.

“The breakfast won’t magically appear on our doorstep you know. I’ll set the alarm at four, I’ll wake up, get dressed, go down to grab breakfast for us both, and I’ll wake you up when I come back up, okay ?”

“You’d do that for me ?” 

“I’d do that for you, yes.” 

“You are a wonderful boyfriend, Emmanuel. I love you. I love you so much.” 

“I love you too.” 

They kiss each other and cuddle closer to sleep. They close their eyes and drift off almost instantly. When the alarm clock rings in the morning, Justin groans, and turns the other way, grumpy like every morning. Emmanuel sighs, kisses him on the cheek and gets up. He promised him breakfast in bed and intends to hold on to this promise. He reactivates his phone while getting dressed, sighs at the number of missed calls and texts he has, and he goes outside of his hotel room, wearing a pair of jeans, and a shirt whose collar he left open. He nods at the security officer waiting for him outside the door and begins by going upstairs, to his boyfriend’s room. Bart is still holding guard, despite knowing there is no one in the room. 

“Mister President.” politely salutes the man “Is there a problem ?” 

“Justin needs clean clothes.” indicates the French President “Would you mind letting me in ?” 

“Of course not. But make it quick please.” 

Emmanuel is back five minutes later with a clean pair of jeans and underwear for his lover, and he goes back to his bedroom to drop them for his boyfriend to get dressed. He then goes downstairs into the restaurant for their breakfast. On the way down, he handles the most pressing text messages he received. In the lobby, he passes by several displays of objects sold by the hotel, and he suddenly stops. It was so sudden that his bodyguard nearly bumps into him. Emmanuel takes several steps backwards, turns his head towards the display, his eyes drawn towards a pair of cufflinks with an intricate geometric pattern. They are metallic, golden, and would look amazing on the wrists of his boyfriend. He is grinning from ear to ear when he intercepts an employee from the hotel : 

“Excuse me !” 

“Yes, Mister President ?” answers the man who was stopped in his tracks. 

“I’d like to purchase those cufflinks. Add them on my tab. I also need two breakfasts, delivered in my bedroom, I’m working early today. There will be extra-cleaning needed in my bedroom as well, you’ll charge that on my tab, of course.” 

“Sure thing Sir. Is there anything else we could do for you ?” 

“No, I’m good. Thanks.”

“Do you want the cufflinks now, or brought in with the breakfast ?” 

“With the breakfast, it’ll be fine.” 

He nods and gets back into the elevator to go back to his sleeping boyfriend. It’s nearly four and a half, and the hotel is still very silent, most of the people still sleeping. But Justin will have to get up if he doesn’t want to be late. He is surprised to find his boyfriend sitting in the bed, half-awake, browsing his phone. 

“Good morning.” says Justin when Emmanuel passes the door “The bed felt cold without you in it.” 

“Sorry, sleeping beauty.” grins his boyfriend climbing on the bed to kiss him “Breakfast’s on the way. I got you clean clothes in your room, so you don’t have to go back there with chocolate stained trousers.” 

“You are wonderful.” whispers Justin pulling him closer for a second kiss “Did you reactivate your phone, love ?” 

“I did. But nothing is more pressing than me having breakfast with you. Go in the bathroom to freshen up a bit, and get dressed, and then we’ll eat.” 

“Is that an order ?” jokes the Canadian.

“Yes.” nods the President “Go, now.” 

They chuckle and kiss once more before Justin gets up and locks himself in the bathroom. The breakfast arrives in the meantime and Emmanuel greets the employee at the doorstep of his room. He hands him back the tray of their dinner, and gets the one of their breakfast instead. The cufflinks have been put in a nice box, on velvet, and he thanks the man for it. He closes the door and hears a soft chuckle in his back. Justin, much more awake than before is leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom. 

“I love this opportunity to have breakfast with you.” he says with a smile.

The Canadian closes the distance between them and hugs his boyfriend, kissing him on the forehead. Those stolen moments are precious, and they both wish it could last forever. Emmanuel brought the rolling tray closer to the bed, and they sit on it, ready to eat. But first the French President takes the cufflinks box and turns to his boyfriend : 

“I know we said no gifts when we mentioned having this Valentine’s day here, but I passed by those this morning, and it flashed in my mind. I saw you wearing them, and I thought it’d be a nice memory of our night together.” 

“You really are… insufferable, Manu’. But I love you for that. Thanks, they are wonderful.” 

“You like them ?” 

“Very much.” grins Justin “Open the drawer of your nightstand, please.” 

Intrigued, Emmanuel does what he was asked to do, and he finds a gift box inside the said drawer. He turns his head back to his boyfriend with a questioning glance. 

“Pick it up, it’s for you.” indicates Justin. 

“But we said no gifts.” argues Emmanuel “And when…”

“Yesterday.” adds his lover “Before I ran away, mad at you. You were so busy with your phone calls that I didn’t get the chance to give it to you. I was planning on sending you a text once I was gone, so you could find it.” 

“Romantic but wicked.” comments Emmanuel picking up the box “But we said no gifts.” 

“Come on !” laughs the Canadian “Did you really think I was going to stick to that stupid idea of yours ? It’s Valentine’s day. And on Valentine’s day, I get a gift for those I love.” 

“Will your wife get one ?” jokes his lover. 

He receives an unconvinced glance and an arched eyebrow. Emmanuel smirks and says : 

“I was joking, honey. I don’t care, you can offer her a ring, or the newest set of lingerie, that’s none of my business.” 

“Just open your damn present, love.” laughs Justin “And for the record, Sophie buys her own lingerie.” 

Emmanuel opens the gift box which reveals a silver plated necklace, with two pendants : one maple leaf, with a letter E engraved on it, and a rooster with a J engraved on it. The perfect rendition of their couple. It brings tears into Emmanuel’s eyes, and leaves him speechless. 

“I am… wow… Justin… That’s… I’m at a loss of words.” he manages to say after a while “This looks wonderful. Thank you so much.” 

He wraps his arms around his boyfriend’s neck and hugs him tightly, whispering sweet words in his ear. The Canadian is smiling, delighted from this surprise and the reaction it provoked in Emmanuel. He spent an awful amount of time choosing this gift, but once he made up his mind, he knew it was the perfect one. And since Brigitte knows about their relationship, he will be able to wear it, if not publicly, at least in private. Or maybe simply keep it as a token of affection, which would already be enough. 

“Would you mind attaching it around my neck ?” asks the French President “I think I can safely wear that underneath my shirt as long as it stays concealed by my collar and tie.” 

“Make sure it stays concealed at all time, because it screams our love, for everyone to see.” 

“I will keep that hidden, don’t worry.” 

They exchange a kiss and Justin helps Emmanuel put the necklace around his neck. It looks amazing, and the pendants falls between his pectoral muscles, on his bare skin. They both look down at them, with a smile, and look back up at each other. 

“I love you.” whispers Emmanuel “You make me happy.” 

“I love you too,” replies Justin “and you make me feel insanely good.” 

They eat their breakfast, talking about the news of the world that they both checked on their cellphones in the morning. It is once again a sweet moment they share, but the more time they spend together the less they want to go away. Justin checks the time on his phone and swears. It is nearly six, and he should run back upstairs to pack his bag to go to the airport. Which means saying goodbye to his boyfriend. A task that he hates more and more every single time. 

“I have to go.” he says “I’m sorry, love. I wish we had more time. Why don’t we have more time ?” 

“We had a full evening, a night, and a morning together, honey.” shrugs Emmanuel “That is more than we usually have.” 

But the sadness in his voice leaves no place to doubt. It breaks both their hearts to be saying goodbye, but they have to. 

“I’m going to miss you.” says Justin “And it’s a shame that I can’t even watch your speech this afternoon.” 

“Don’t blame yourself, you have to go back to your family.” 

“I’d rather stay with you.” 

“This is a lie.” sighs Emmanuel despite the heartbreak it is for him to point that out “You miss your children, you miss Sophie. Now go, before I kidnap you and lock you up in that bedroom. Or you get late for your plane.” 

He nervously clears his throat and his boyfriend’s hand comes on his cheek, stroking calmly the skin with his thumb, looking at him with sorry eyes. Emmanuel brings his own hand on Justin’s one and says : 

“You have to go, honey.” 

“Yeah. Right.” says the Canadian closing his eyes and shaking his head “Sorry.” 

They kiss each other one last time, with as much passion as possible, Justin holding his boyfriend by the collar of his shirt, not wanting to let go of him. Emmanuel has one hand in his lover’s hair, playing with the curls on the back of Justin’s head, not wanting to let him go either. 

“I love you, Justin. Thanks for today, it was amazing.” whispers Emmanuel reluctantly breaking their kiss. 

“I love you too. It was great.” 

Justin goes away and Emmanuel closes the door on him. He leans against it and lets himself slide down onto the floor, his heart broken into a million pieces. Saying goodbye is always hard, but this time, it was even harder, because they shared a wonderful time together. The French President sighs deeply, takes a few deep breaths, knowing that he can’t let this define his day, since he has interviews, speeches and meetings scheduled all day long. He closes the buttons of his shirt, hiding the necklace he is wearing, that necklace that means so much to him. To them. That symbol of the love they share. It will give him strength to go on with his day, hopefully. Not that he has any other choice really. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOOOOOO MANY THINGS TO DISCUSS ABOUT THAT CHAPTER : First of all, did you enjoy it ? How cute are our two lovebords ? Manu' unable to leave his damn phone alone for two minutes ? Justin being patient but not stupid ? Them arguing and Justin leaving ? Justin sulking and Emmanuel realizing (with a bit of help) that he screwed up ? The fact that Bart protects Justin ? The dinner plan to fix things up ? Justin agreeing on giving it another try ? Emmanuel's apology ? The champagne and dancing together ? The dinner ? The dessert in the bath ? Justin begging for sex ? The very hot sex in the bathtub ? The extra-hot sex in the bed afterwards ? Them fixing the mess they made in the bathroom ? The calm shower they take together ? Worrying about the times to come ? Sleeping together ? Emmanuel falling in love with the cufflinks and buying them for his boyfriend (aka soulmates vibes for those who have read this week chapter as well) ? Justin's gift to Emmanuel ? Them being unable to part ways ? Emmanuel ending up on the floor to have to say goodbye to Justin ? 
> 
> How do you think this will go for them ? Have you realized yet that this had been the last time they saw each other ? Well, if you hadn't, you're allowed to cry NOW !


	31. March 13th 2020 - Paris, France - The first Covid strike…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with this chapter we're beginning the Covid-period/lockdown chapters. You'll see, they are much different than the usual ones, they are shorter, and I will provide no song suggestion for them (but anything midly sad/apocalyptic should do)... 
> 
> I hope you'll still enjoy them ! 
> 
> Don't forget to comment at the end of the chapter, it helps me keep the motivation to keep going ;)

“Have you seen that ?” asks Brigitte to his husband, showing him her phone 

It is open on Twitter, and Emmanuel struggles to focus on the screen. He has been monitoring the virus situation all day long and he feels exhausted. He has been up since three in the morning, and will have meetings until late in the afternoon. But Brigitte insists. He finally lays eyes on the phone screen and nearly jumps on his seat. The message is from the Canadian Prime Minister, who informs his people that his wife is showing mild-symptoms. 

“Fuck” he mutters “Sophie was in London last week…” 

“I know.” replies his wife “You should call him though. He’ll need support.” 

“Thanks…” 

Emmanuel would so much hold his wife in his arms, and just let go of some of the tension, and exhaustion, but they are both trying to comply with the health requirements of the current situation. Harder than expected to do : they were still sleeping in the same bed, but no sex, not that any of them wanted it very much, with all the anxiety and tiredness of their days. He’d also love to kiss her, but that is also impossible, at least for now. 

“You look like shit.” she says to him, half-amused “Call Justin, try to relax for a while, you need it, love.”

“I love you so much, Brigitte,” replies the President “Thanks for keeping me informed.”

“Love you too…” 

Their fingers brush against each other, and she leaves, pocketing her phone into the rear pocket of her jeans. Emmanuel finds her really sexy like that, and he bites his lower-lip. She closes the door of his office, and Emmanuel calls on one of his assistants through the landline. 

“I will be unavailable for at least half-an hour. I want no one in my office, or anywhere near it…”

“Sure thing, Sir.” 

He hangs up and immediately calls his Canadian counterpart through the tablet on his desk. The handsome face of Justin pops up on his screen. 

“Give me a minute Manu,” exclaims the Canadian “Then I will be all yours.” 

Emmanuel watches his friend discuss with his eldest son, about being in isolation, and what he can and can not do in their house. 

“Understood ?” concludes Justin 

“Fine !” sighs the boy “May I go watch TV with Ella ?”

“You may…” 

The kid vanishes and Justin closes the door behind him, with a sigh. He then comes back to his desk, on which Emmanuel is waiting, through the tablet, and he crosses his legs on the desk, cracking his neck and closing his eyes for a second. 

“I guess you had a pretty rough morning…” starts the French President “How are you doing ?”

“I am worried for Sophie, struggling to make the kids understand what it all means, and my fucking phone keeps buzzing !” he sighs checking his phone and turning it face down on his desk 

“How is Sophie ?” asks Emmanuel with real concern 

“She is fine. Slightly feverish, a runny nose… Nothing out of the ordinary, if we weren’t in a pandemic situation like we are…” 

“Did she get tested yet ?”

“Earlier today,” explains the PM “I am waiting on her results to come back…” 

“What do you think ?” 

“That we’re all fucked !” 

A strange silence sets up between them until Justin shakes his head and dismisses the feeling of apocalypse he has in a corner of his head since late yesterday night. He saw his whole life pass in front of his eyes when Sophie told him, as they were watching TV that she was feeling unwell, and that she had a fever. 

“Is there anything I can do to help ?” asks Emmanuel “You know I’ll always be there for you, no matter what…” 

“I wish you were here with me right now Manu. I have all sorts of things to handle here. And my kids are terrified.” 

“How did they take the news ?” 

“I had to tell them, after I put Sophie back to bed this morning. They are worried, but I am trying my best to keep their spirits up. They are bright and smart, and understood that their mother is doing just fine, but still, they are nervous and I feel it.” 

“I understand. But your kids are strong Justin and…” 

He stops because his friend is not listening to him anymore. Justin’s eyes left the screen to look down at his phone, and he is nervously biting his lip, silent and worried. Emmanuel never saw him like that, and it breaks his heart. 

“Love ?” calls Emmanuel “Tell me…” 

“Sophie is positive” sighs the Canadian “She will be in quarantine from now on, and I have to self-isolate the kids and I in another part of the house…” 

“I trust you Justin. What about work ?” 

“I have already cancelled today’s meetings, I will carry on with the rest from home.”

“How confident are you about running the country while on isolation ?” 

Emmanuel knows that the best way to keep Justin from breaking down now, is to talk to him about work. Both of them are workaholics and they need their work to keep balance. 

“I’m good.” says Justin “I can do meetings via visioconference, I can give phone calls, send emails, I can still talk to you, which is a relief…” 

“Anytime.” smiles Emmanuel “Day or night. I am here for you.” 

“Thank you, Manu. I love you, you know…”

“I know. Now go tell your kids, and your wife, but stay away from her, okay ?”

“I will.” laughs Justin in reaction to his friend’s concern “How are you doing by the way ? I didn’t even check on you… You look terrible Manu, have you at least slept for a couple of hours ?”

“Not really. I am delivering a speech to my people tonight,” explains the French “and I spent the whole afternoon trying to negotiate on what to do…”

“What are you going to do ?” 

Emmanuel sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose : he is taking incredible measures, but he knows he will face criticism for what he failed to do. 

“We have elections on Sunday, and despite my best efforts, I could not manage to reach an agreement to postpone them…” 

“Seriously ? That’s insane !”

“My hands are tied Justin, the Constitution prevents me from taking that decision on my own…”

“Fuck the Constitution.” whispers Justin. 

A smile enlightens his face, and Emmanuel forces himself to smile as well. 

“I will close all schools from Monday,” adds Emmanuel “I wish it is not too late already…”

“Let’s hope for it. And pray.” 

“Do you ?” questions the French. 

“Everyday,” admits Justin “I don’t know if it helps, but at least it keeps me sane enough…” 

“Sanity is key here. My country is going nuts, and I don’t think tonight’s speech will help.”

“At what time do you speak ?”

“Eight.” answers Emmanuel. 

“May you ask your wife to call me with your phone so I can see that ?”

“Sure.” nods the French with a faint smile “You can’t help but watch me, can’t you ?” 

They both laugh, and it helps them relieve a bit of the tension of the day. 

“What about your loved ones ?” asks Trudeau “Everyone safe ?”

“For now, they are.” says Macron “I hope it stays that way. And I really hope for you that Sophie will feel better in no time.”

“Yes, she will.”

Justin feels better to have talked to his lover. Of course, he’d like to hug Emmanuel, and spend time with him. But in times of crisis like this, they have other things to deal with than their blossoming relationship. 

“I will be sleeping on the couch for at least two weeks,” explains Justin “I might need some… support in the evenings.” 

“Anything you need.” agrees his partner “Anything. You should go now, tell your wife and kids...” 

“Yes. Talk to you later then.”

“I’ll make sure we get you on the line before my speech.”

“Bye Manu, I love you.”

“Love you too.”

The French President hangs up and buries his face into his hands. Will the situation keep getting worse day after day ? Is closing schools an efficient enough solution ? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ? What did you think of this chapter ? Brigitte being the one breaking the news to Emmanuel ? Brigitte encouraging him to call his boyfriend ? Justin being half-resigned, half in panic ? Emmanuel trying to support him as best as he can ? Them being there for each other no matter what ? Sophie's test results ? Emmanuel who is not going to be able to postpone the elections ? Justin wanting to watch his boyfriend's speech ? 
> 
> How do you expect them to live this whole covid-pandemic far from each other ?


	32. March 16th 2020 - In a car from Le Touquet to Paris, France - Tough decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second Covid-era chapter, so it's short but I hope you'll like it anyways. 
> 
> A little detail for contextualisation : Emmanuel and Brigitte went back to their city (Le Touquet) to vote for the mayoral elections on March 16th...

“What time is it, honey ?” asks Emmanuel to his wife sitting next to him 

“Three and a half, why ?”

He does not answer the question but starts a video call with his best friend and lover in Canada. Justin is still in self-isolation, and they are talking more often these days, mostly to keep them both sane in these troubled times. 

“Hello !” exclaims the Canadian “Just a minute, I’m in between meetings, and I need to make sure the kids are working…” 

“Take your time.” answers the French with a wink 

Justin comes back to his office a couple of minutes later, and as usual he sits comfortably, and crosses his legs over the desk. 

“Nice socks.” comments the French President grinning 

He recognized one of the pairs he offered to Justin the Christmas before : white with a black wave pattern. 

“Where are you calling from ?” questions Justin not recognizing the environment 

“The car. I am with Brigitte. We went down to the Touquet to vote…”

“Oh, right !” exclaims the Canadian “You were voting today ! Hi, Brigitte !”

“Hello, Justin,” she says appearing behind her husband’s head “How is Sophie doing ?”

“Much better actually,” replies the man “The fever is nearly gone and she is coughing less than the days before. I believe the worst is behind us…” 

“Good thing then.” nods Emmanuel “And the kids ?” 

“They’re good. Stuck at home with their dad, that part they hate, but they can watch more TV than usual, and they love that !” 

“Do you have someone home to help you with them ?” asks Brigitte 

“If only…” sighs Justin in response “But that would break the idea of self-isolation, wouldn’t it ?” 

The three of them chuckle, and Brigitte sits back on her seat, closing her eyes to rest for a bit. It is also a sign that she wants to let the two men discuss without her listening. Emmanuel gives a gentle stroke on her thigh to thank her, and he then turns back to Justin. 

“How is the situation going in Canada ?”

“Much better than in France, but we are bracing ourselves for the worst…” 

“Have you seen the pictures of my country ? French people are bloody morons !” 

“Yes” sighs the Canadian “You will have no other choice but…”

“To put the whole country on lockdown.” completes the president “I know. It is my plan for next week.” 

“You know this is the only solution, Manu’. It is painful, but necessary.”

“I just hope it is not too late already… And the vote today… That fucking vote !” 

“Why did you go ?”

“I am the President !” replies Emmanuel “I can not bail on voting, especially since we got the scientists to say it was safe…” 

“Was it ?”

“Safe ? Yes of course, we washed our hands before and after, and touched nothing. The trickiest part was the people bumping into each other to get a glimpse of us, of a picture…”

“I see…” 

Emmanuel sighs. His people are acting irrational. It started with the panic-buying in stores, and on this sunny Sunday, many many people were outside for a walk. Which wouldn’t be a problem if they weren’t talking and gathering… Which they are. And the President needs to rant. he got his Prime Minister over the phone earlier, Edouard Philippe being on his way back to Paris too, and they will meet later, to see what measures they can implement. 

“Did you at least got the chance to have lunch with your family ?” 

“Barely,” replies Emmanuel “We kept as far away as possible from our grandchildren, just in case, and we had time for roast chicken and some fries, and we had to leave before dessert…” 

“You need a snack then…” 

The playful Canadian unbuttons the top-two buttons of his shirt, knowing exactly how much it will please the French President. Emmanuel bites his lower lip, excited but unable to do anything to act on that for now. 

“Stop that !” he whispers “Please…” 

“Come on,” laughs Justin “You are too sensitive to all of this !” 

Justin closes his shirt, delighted to see the effect he has on his partner. Late the night before, they steamed off together, wanking in front of the camera, trying to get close while afar. And it did them both good. But here in the car, with Brigitte next to him, Emmanuel refuses to do anything. Even though his wife knows, and accepts it, it is a whole different thing to actually display his love for Justin in front of her. 

“Have you prepared another speech for your people ?” wonders the Canadian 

“Not yet. I can’t talk tonight, it is election night, and I still have people to meet to see what we can do. I will probably speak tomorrow, or tuesday maybe…” 

“I see.”

“What about you ?”

“My team is doing the press conferences,” starts the Canadian “and I keep talking to people via video or phone, and I tweet. I am even tweeting more than Trump !” 

“Did you get on the phone with him by the way ?”

“Not him, but his team. They are clueless about the real danger of this virus, and I can tell you that thousands of Americans will die from it… You know what his latest idea is ?”

“Tell me !”

“A day of prayer !” 

Justin laughs and Emmanuel shakes his head. Of course a day of prayer can be a positive thing, if associated with appropriate measures to preserve the health of the citizens… Not in current-day USA. 

“What about your Europeans counterparts ?” asks Trudeau 

“Not of much help unfortunately. Italy and Spain are on lockdown, Angela is… surprisingly selfish, Boris is being Boris, and the others are doing their best…” 

“I thought Europe was united as one…” 

The jokes makes Emmanuel smile. The European Union wants to appear as united. But in reality, having the different countries agree on anything is incredibly perilous, and in this time of crisis, he is the only one trying to make them cooperate as the team they should be. And it is consuming him from within. 

“What about borders ?” asks Emmanuel 

“We are going to close them for non-Europeans in the week, maybe tomorrow, but I need to review the details… You ?”

“I’m working on it with the European Union.”

“And how… Shit. Sorry… Just a minute… COME IN !” 

Justin has a visitor : his youngest son, looking for something to do apparently. 

“Come here, Didi.” calls the Canadian PM seeing his son hesitate on the threshold “Come say hi to Emmanuel !” 

The little boy walks around the desk and waves at the French President he sees on the screen. 

“Hello Hadrien !” replies Emmanuel with enthusiasm “How are you doing ?”

“I’m good !” answers the little boy “What about you ?”

“I’m good too.” smiles the French President 

“What do you want ?” asks Trudeau to his youngest son 

“Can I go outside with Ella ? In the garden ? To play ?” 

The Canadian PM sighs and kisses him on the top of the head. 

“Alright. But I want you both to wear gloves and scarves, and hats. And your winter coats. it’s freezing outside. And be a good boy, ask your brother if he wants to come too, okay ?” 

“Okay !” 

The boy high-fives his father and as soon as he’s gone Justin washes his hands with hydroalcoholic solution and calls his security officer through the landline on his desk. 

“Bart ? Could you keep an eye on my kids playing in the garden please ?”

“Sure, Justin. Which of them ?”

“Hadrien and Ella, maybe Xavier but I’m not sure. And please make sure they wear their winter coats all along.”

“I will. Anything else ?”

“No. Thank you, Bart.” 

“A pleasure, Sir.” 

Justin hangs up with him and continues his conversation with Emmanuel. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ? What did you think about this chapter ? Emmanuel thinking about calling Justin despite having Brigitte in the car with him ? That's a nice change, right ? Brigitte enquiring about the Canadian and Sophie's health ? Her leaving the two lovers discuss on their own ? Emmanuel's decision to put the country in lockdown ? Justin teasing his boyfriend ? Emmanuel stopping him because of Brigitte ? How they switch on work topics ? Hadrien interrupting ? Justin asking his bodyguard to keep an eye on the kids while they play outside in the garden ?


	33. April 13th 2020 - Ottawa, Canada - 19h45, fifteen minutes to go, Paris time...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone ! It's the third (I guess ?) Covid-chapter and we've moved on in time quite a bit... Emmanuel is due to give a speech at 8pm, and he may need a little bit of help from his boyfriend ;)

Justin’s phone buzzes in his jeans pocket and he swears as to whom might be disturbing him at this time of the day. 

**_Help. I need my boyfriend. Can I call you ?_ **

Emmanuel never cries for help. Never. Even in his darkest hours. Justin immediately stops what he was doing and removes his glasses to call his partner. He sets up his phone on the desk so he can see him and Emmanuel answers immediately the video call. He is in his office in the palace, facing the window, his back to Justin, alone from what the Canadian can see. 

“Aren’t you supposed to go live in like… fifteen minutes ?” asks Justin checking the timer he set on his desk not to miss the speech 

“I can’t. I can’t do that Justin. I need you to tell me I’m not making a mistake.” 

“Emmanuel. We discussed this. You have no other choice.” 

They spent hours late last night reviewing the French’s speech, and the measures he is about to announce. Six more weeks of lockdown. Six more weeks. And that terrifies Emmanuel. 

“I need you to tell me I am taking the right decision” 

“I am not going to tell you that, love.” replies Justin exhaling deeply “Because deep down that is not why you called. You called because you need support. And I’d be lying if I said you are taking the right decision. You are taking the only decision possible, honey. The only one possible. And that is what you need to hear right now.”

“I hate you, do you know that ?” jokes Emmanuel finally turning to face his boyfriend 

He has not yet put his suit jacket on and he looks incredibly young and handsome like that. If they had more time, Justin would gladly turn him on, but they have no time. And Emmanuel still need a bit of cheering up : 

“And you need to hear two more things : the first one is that you have people that love you madly, and I am one of them, no matter what. The second one is that you are an incredible leader Emmanuel, and that you need to put that jacket or you will be late. I’ll be watching you the whole time, just give your phone to anyone in your staff, or your wife. And we’ll talk later.” 

“Edouard will be delighted to have you in his hands” smiles Emmanuel putting on his jacket and adjusting his sleeves “How do I look ?” 

“Handsome and sexy, as usual.” 

“Thanks.” 

Emmanuel grabs his phone and exits his office. He bursts into the transmission room five minutes before the programmed time for his speech, prompting a relieved sigh in all of his team. 

“Never too early…” ironically says his Prime Minister who came to review his speech with him in the late afternoon but was dismissed an hour ago to let Emmanuel prepare himself.

“I need you to do something important for me, Edouard” answers the President placing the phone in his hands “Please” 

Edouard lowers his gaze and sees Justin on the screen. The Canadian PM smiles and waves at him and his French counterpart sighs and nods in return. Of course. What was he expecting anyway ? The two men are linked by indestructible ties, even though they are reprehensible ones. Brigitte arrives discreetly just a minute before Emmanuel’s speech, and she exchanges a smile with her husband, and she nods at Edouard, frowning at the phone in his hands. He is not quick enough to hide the screen and she spots Justin’s face on it before Edouard can place his hand in front of it. She approaches the Prime Minister and Edouard freezes. Emmanuel will kill him. Especially since it’s Brigitte’s birthday today. He is going to break their marriage because he wasn’t paying enough attention. 

“I know” she whispers to him with a little smile “I know about Emmanuel and Justin. You can relax, Edouard…” 

She smiles at the Canadian, on the screen, as the lights lower and they all focus on the President who begins his speech with all people here to watch him. Edouard thanks the providence for not having made a mistake that he would have regretted all his life but he still wonders how much Brigitte knows about Emmanuel and Justin’s shenanigans. That’s a question he might want to ask his friend after his speech maybe. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ? What did you think of this (short) chapter ? 
> 
> Emmanuel crying for help ? Justin who had set an alarm to be sure not to miss his bf's speech ? Him dropping everything to answer Emmanuel's call ? The way he reassures him ? The way they interact and joke together ? Emmanuel arriving just before his speech in the room ? Edouard being "in charge" of Justin ? Him being mortified about Brigitte seeing that Justin is watching Emmanuel's speech ? Brigitte telling Edouard that she knows about Justin and her husband ?


	34. April 19th 2020 - Ottawa, Canada - Not today

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more Covid-chapter.   
> Sorry in advance, it's a really short one, but I typed those chapter on a "day to day" basis during the first lockdown when the events happened so... that may explain the shortness. 
> 
> Two little backgrounds elements to understand :   
> \- There was a shooting that day in Canada   
> \- Justin had to fight to force the Parliament not to reunite in full session (but rather in video)

Justin looks down at the phone ringing on his desk. 

“Not now, love, not now !” 

He rejects the call and keeps writing his speech. Emmanuel calls for a second time and Justin rejects the call once more. On the third call, he picks up, and barks at his boyfriend : 

“Today’s not the day Emmanuel !” 

“Good morning to you too.” replies the other one a bit startled by the aggressivity he received. 

“Sorry.” sighs Justin “Today’s a nightmare, I know it’s not your fault, I just needed to unleash on someone. And I thought that two rejected calls were clear enough of a message.” 

Emmanuel hesitates for a second, looks at Justin and hangs up. Fine. If he doesn’t want to talk, then he can stay on his own. Half an hour later, the French President’s phone buzzes on his desk. It’s Justin. Emmanuel waits for quite some time before picking up the call. 

“I’m sorry.” immediately apologizes Justin “I shouldn’t have talked to you like that. Please, excuse-me ?” 

“It’s okay. I’ve got intelligence on what is happening in your country. I understand. I simply wanted to offer moral support you know. I know you’re on your own, that Sophie and the kids are away and that you might want to talk. But if you don’t…” 

“The whole world is crumbling down, love, I just don’t think I can take it anymore. I have to go out in… (he checks his wristwatch) twenty minutes… to give my daily statement to the press. What am I going to say ?” 

“The same as usual. Start with the shootings.” 

“It’s still an ongoing situation…” 

Emmanuel keeps for himself the word he has on his lips. Now is not the time to get in a fight with Justin. 

“What about Parliament ?” 

“That fucking moron is still blocking the agreement.” harshly replies Justin “If I don’t get something on the table by five this afternoon, we’ll have to meet all together, that’s 338 MPs, plus security and assistants and secretaries and technical employees… This is insane ! Utter nonsense !” 

Justin got up on his feet and he is pacing through his office, nervously fidgeting with his fingers. Emmanuel gives him two minutes to compose his thoughts and then he asks : 

“What are you going to do ?” 

“I’m going to go out, give that damn press update. I’ll start with the shooting, then I’ll say a word about the Parliament situation, force the wolf out of the cave, and then I’ll give the latest updates about Covid. I’ll answer a few questions. Then back home. I grab a light lunch, get on the phone with opposition leaders, trying to resolve that pressing problem. I’ll receive updates on the shooting as it develops, I can treat that as it comes. The kids are with Sophie, I have a phone call scheduled with them. I have you on the line… My mother, I still need to call my mother…” 

It helped Justin a lot to say all of this out loud, developing the program of his day. He feels calmer, and in a much better mood. And really guilty for snapping at his boyfriend. 

“Thanks, Emmanuel. For being patient as you are.” he says turning to face the screen “I don’t deserve your love.” 

“We all have bad days, I suspected you might need some help… Why don’t you call me back later ? When all of this is solved ?” 

“I love you so much, Emmanuel. Thank you. Talk to you later.” 

“Talk to you later. And don’t forget to call your mother !” 

“I will.” 

Justin hangs up and smiles as he gathers the notes he prepared for his press update. Emmanuel is truly one of a kind. But the Canadian PM knows he hurt his boyfriend earlier. He was too harsh with him, and too violent, when Emmanuel only wanted to help. Before going out of his house, Justin takes his phone and sends a quick text message to his partner : 

  
**_Once again I am really sorry for snapping at you like I did. I love you very much, I couldn’t do all of this without you. You are precious to me, and I know you only wanted to help. I’ll call you back tonight, and we’ll talk about something else, maybe we could watch a movie together ? Or a game ? Your choice… I really want to make it up to you._ ** **_  
_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, comments ar emore than welcome :) 
> 
> I read and answer them all, so please, don't hesitate to let me know what you think of this chapter !


	35. April 28th 2020 - Paris, France - Am I cursed ?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back ! With a short chapter, yes, but we're still in the "pandemic" chapters so please excuse the brevity of it. 
> 
> Quick reminder : I'm publishing a chapter every other Monday.  
> Other reminder : I am MORE THAN HAPPY when I get comments on this fic (or other fics) and I answer to them, so please, if you enjoy reading it, feel free to comment :) 
> 
> Quick point to understand the chapter : on that day there was a fire in the building in which Margaret (Justin's mother) lives. She was okay, but went to the hospital for the usual check-ups... But obviously our sweet Canadian was shaken...

Emmanuel checks his phone and notices he got an alert on the key-words he uses on twitter. His boyfriend’s name is trending, but it’s still very early morning in Canada. He frowns, and his heart skips a few beats when he reads the words ‘fire’, ‘hospital’ and ‘smoke’. 

“Oh fuck.” he swears when he realizes the reports are about Justin’s mother : Margaret 

He knows how close Justin is from his mother, and how crushed he will be if anything happened to her. He closes Twitter and immediately sends a text to Justin. 

**_Please tell me your mother is doing fine. I’m here for you whatever you need. You can call me if you want, I’m in my office all day._ **

His phone rings two minutes later. It’s a video call from his lover, back in his office in Canada. 

“Hello.” he says to him “How are you ? How’s your mother ?”

“She’s fine, I got her on the phone, she has nothing serious, just inhaled a bit of smoke. And I am… Shaken ? Like a man who got woken up by the emergency services at four in the morning.”

“I see. You look awful.” 

“I need a nap.” admits the Canadian “I’ll try to rest for a bit after lunch, but my phone kept buzzing all morning.” 

“People worrying about your mother I imagine ?”

“I’d give the world to just be able to go and hold her into my arms, you know. I just want to hug her. Or Sophie. Or my kids… Or you.” 

The Canadian lifts his gaze to his boyfriend and sighs. This social distancing is becoming a heavier burden each day that pass. And Justin lives it really badly, to be all alone in his big house. At least, Emmanuel still gets to be with his wife at the end of the day. He still has someone to talk to. 

“Do you think I’m cursed ?” asks Justin more seriously than ever “Do you think someone cursed me ? Do you think I am being punished for dating you ?”

“Justin !” reacts Emmanuel “Please don’t do this to me ! You can’t believe in this kind of divine punishment… Not you…”

“Look at how 2020 just threw all sorts of nasty things into my face, love. Can you tell me one good thing that happened to me this year ?”

Emmanuel hesitates for a few seconds and Justin continues ranting : 

“You see : there’s nothing ! Ever since I came back from Costa Rica, my life has been a giant mess. First I had to deal with the aftermath of that plane crash and then it was drama after drama. And then there was Sophie’s illness and ever since my life has been a nightmare. A NIGHTMARE !” 

He jumped on his feet and he is now pacing back and forth into his office, much to Emmanuel’s despair. This is a nasty habit that his boyfriend took, and that he tried to counter, as much as possible, but with the distance, he was, most of the time, helpless, and it was driving him crazy. When they were together he was usually able to control Justin’s nervosity, but through a screen this was vain. 

“Justin.” he says softly “Look at me.” 

The Canadian pauses but he needs a few more seconds to focus back on the blue gaze of his partner. 

“What about me ?” 

“I haven’t seen you in months, Emmanuel. And I miss you, like crazy.” 

“I know, and I miss you too. Much more than I admit it myself. But the good point is that our relationship took a whole new turn…” 

“Hmm.” nods Justin 

“Come on. This is a big step for us, honey. And much more than we could have expected.” 

“True. But I still have a marriage to preserve.” 

“And you’ll manage to balance your relationship with Sophie, and whatever we are living. Because we are not alone anymore into supporting our relationship. So try to hang onto this, until everything else quiets down. Because it will eventually quiets down.” 

“Do you really think that ?”

“Of course !” 

Emmanuel smiles at him, and that irresistible cute face makes Justin smile just a little. This is already a victory for the French. And for now it is enough. Justin eventually sits back on his chair and his boyfriend says to him : 

“What do you think your mother would say if she knew about us ?” 

“Oh. That’s a tricky question.” smiles Justin “She’d be surprised, of course. But I guess she could understand, after a while.” 

“I’m glad she is okay, anyway. Do you have any other plans for your day ?”

“None beside my press conference, and the video call with my kids. What about you ?” 

“Business as usual.” brushes off the French “A meeting with Edouard, a video-call with Olivier, and then I’ll try to grab some time with Brigitte. Unless you want me to spend some time with you.” 

“I’ll be fine. Your wife allows you to spend an awful lot of time with me already, you should spend some time with her.”

“She can understand, if you need me.” 

“I will be fine.” says Justin “Don’t worry, you can spend an evening with Brigitte.” 

“Sure ?” 

“Certain, love. But I appreciate, I truly do.” 

They smile at each other and Justin says : 

“I have to go, I keep receiving notifications on my phone, but thanks for checking on me. I love you, Emmanuel.” 

“I love you too, Justin.” 

They hang up and Emmanuel sits back in his chair, his arms crossed behind his head, with a smile on his lips. His boyfriend is not cursed. Yes, 2020 has been difficult, a very rough year indeed, but it has been the case for all of them, and they’ll find a way to make things better after the crisis. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo ? What did you think of this chapter ?


	36. May 25th 2020 - Ottawa, Canada - A rough wake-up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news : it's the last of the "covid"/quarantine chapters which means more reading material for you in the coming chapters but... 
> 
> Bad news : I really really have to get back into writing also for this fic as I "only" have about 4 or 5 chapters of advance left... 
> 
> Do not forget to leave a comment at the end, that'd be nice !

Justin opens his eyes and blinks several times, trying to make sense of his surroundings. He is sweating and panting, and he sighs when he realizes the very naughty images in his brain were just a dream. 

“Fuck.” he swears 

He gets up, half-hard, and passing a hand through his messy hair, he reaches the bathroom, to splash his face with cold water. Sleeping on his own is getting more and more difficult, and he misses having someone to cuddle and have sex with at night. He even considered crashing on the couch to avoid sleeping in his lonely bed. He looks at himself in the mirror, and shakes his head : he won’t be able to sleep anymore. He goes back to his bedroom to grab his cellphone on his nightstand and rushes downstairs to grab some breakfast. He unlocks his phone and checks his calendar : nothing special planned today, but he marked the date with the color he uses for personal events. He simply can’t remember why. He looks at the calendar pinned on the wall, the one Sophie uses to keep track of birthdays, anniversaries and important dates for their family, but nothing is written for that day. He frowns and stops in the middle of what he was doing : toasts in hands, ready to be thrown in the toaster. Like every morning, he sends a text to his boyfriend, to let him know he’s awake, and the French video calls him less than two minutes later : 

“Happy anniversary !” exclaims the French “Is that what made you wake up so early ?”

“Anni… what ?”

He then only recalls that it has been three years since they first met officially, in Taormina, just before the G7. 

“Oh, fuck.” he swears “I’m sorry, love. Happy anniversary to us. Three years… What a ride…” 

“So that’s not what drew you out of bed so early ?”

“No. I had a… a wet dream…” shamefully chuckles the Canadian

“Oh. About who ?”

Justin doesn’t answer immediately. He places his bread in the toaster and looks for the jam, the milk, and the orange juice before coming back to his boyfriend. 

“About you, idiot.” he grins “But I really believed it was real, up until I opened my eyes, and realized you weren’t really with me.” 

“I’m sorry about that. You know I’d love to be.” 

“I know.”

“What was I doing in that dream ?” smirks the playful President 

“You were sucking me, and since we were alone, I was free to scream your name, again and again… That was wild…”

“You are naughty, Justin.” 

“I have been deprived from real sex for too long.” sighs the Canadian Prime Minister “I haven’t had been properly laid since… Since…” 

He tries to recall and sighs deeply. 

“End of February.” he eventually says “Before Sophie went to London, and before she got sick.” 

“Oh.” reacts Emmanuel “That’s a long time.” 

“A fucking long time.” laughs Justin “But I’ll manage. Do you realize it’s been three years we have fallen for each other ?”

“It’s a bit hard to realize to be honest. I know you are not much into celebrating that kind of stuff, but since it was almost love at first sight, and given the circumstances, I thought it would be nice to at least remember it.” 

“I know. I had thought the same, I even marked the date in my calendar…”

“And yet you had forgotten, honey.” jokes Emmanuel “But don’t worry, I don’t really mind. And it’s still very early for you.”

“What do you recall from our first meet ?”

“Not much of what we talked about to be honest,” admits the French President “but I will always remember your eyes, and your lips, and realizing how much you and I were alike… And how hard I slipped in front of Edouard Philippe as soon as you were gone.” 

“You did ?” 

“He asked me what I thought about you,” explains Emmanuel “meaning what I thought about you on a professional level, but the only word that came to my mind was ‘cute’.” 

The President blushes slightly to the recollection of this event, and Justin laughs, sitting at his kitchen table, while eating his breakfast. 

“I was mortified, but Edouard understood, you made a lasting impression on him as well. But I was hooked, and I loved you ever since.”

“I loved you back then as well, Emmanuel, and I still do. More than anything. And I miss you so much… I really want to hold you in my arms.” 

“Maybe at the G7 ?”

“In Camp David ? Will you go ?” asks Justin 

“Only if you do.” smirks his lover “And don’t talk to me about distancing, masks or preventing the spread of the virus, because I’ll kill you.” 

“There’s a solid chance I caught it at the same time as Sophie anyway.” shrugs Justin “So I’m supposed to be immune.” 

“Good.” 

They both grin like idiots. Maybe they’ll see each other at Camp David, if the G7 takes place, which is not certain at all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ? What did you think of this chapter ?   
> Justin making naughty dreams about his boyfriend ? Him not being able to remember why he marked the date on his calendar ? Manu calling him ? The anniversary of their first meet ? The talk about the Canadian's dream ? Them talking openly about sex ? Them recalling the day they first met ? Both of them missing each other really much and hoping for a reunion at the G7 ? 
> 
> What are you expecting in the upcoming chapters ?


End file.
